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The Press Loses With a DeSantis Win

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Mar 28, 2024
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03.28.24

Body Checking the Fact-Checkers – POLITIFACT

Yesterday we covered how none of the fact-check sources dared come forward and correct Joe Biden on his claim that he took a train across the recently felled Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Today Ciara O’Rourke at PolitiFact addressed the President’s comment. Note we do not say she corrects the President. Instead, we are treated to “context”, as we have it explained what the president meant to say, and no grade is assessed for the comment:

Before it collapsed, the four-lane bridge spanned 1.6 miles — and, no, the bridge does not have train tracks. However, these social media posts did not present Biden’s full statement allowing for some ambiguity; he mentioned commuting by car.

This was a rather innocuous comment by Biden, and simply correcting the matter would not be that controversial, or difficult. The inability to do so shows the lengths fact-checkers will go to keep anything negative from being applied to Biden.

News Avoidance Syndrome – VARIOUS OUTLETS

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Certainly, most are familiar with the lawsuit brought by Disney against the state of Florida regarding the takeover of the Reedy Creek District governance by the state, ending the special set-aside the company enjoyed for decades. When the suit was brought forward the news outlets were filled with promise that Disney had found a way to win and humiliate Ron DeSantis.

The Wall Street Journal described it as “DeSantis’s Miscalculation.” Newsweek claimed DeSantis was Raging about the “Legal Humiliation.” Vox declared a year ago that somehow Diseny defeated DeSantis. Now things are notably different.

The case by Disney has been dropped in its entirety, a clear win for DeSantis and the state, and the reactions from the press are far less energetic than when things were instigated.

Low-Octane Gaslighting – VARIOUS OUTLETS

  • Not a great sign when others need to defend the mayhem at the network.

As the dust has yet to settle at NBC News over the Ronna McDaniel hiring-crying-firing fiasco, one amazing thing is seeing those in the press who feel the need to point out that MSNBC is not resistant to having Republicans on the air. Those claiming the network is awash in Republicans are rather desperate, and not just because those named are ardent Joe Biden supporters.

Prose & Contradiction – AXIOS / SIMON & SCHUSTER

A previous book deal that was in place with the book publisher now sees Alex Thompson from Axios shopping his proposal to other booksellers. Thompson, a notably pro-Biden reporter, was going to release a book on Biden’s term due sometime this year. But it has been learned that Simon & Schuster has spiked the deal, and this could be a result - as Daniel Lippmann points out - that previous Joe Biden-centered books have delivered anemic sales, especially in comparison to the flood of books on Trump.

Presentation Paradox – BLOOMBERG

At The Atlantic, they featured a guest column from a Stanford University student who detailed the activism extremists protesting on campus and cited one instance where an individual stepped to speak at a rally and called out directly for President Biden to be assassinated.

Graham Starr, from Bloomberg, saw this piece and expressed concern; not for the threat on the president, but that the individual was named and could lead to problems.

Now the only thing more confounding than worrying about the safety of a person calling to kill the president is expressing this concern and then sharing both the inflammatory comments and the person’s name during your complaint.

DNC PR Firm – NBC NEWS

In reporting on President Biden seeing a struggle to get a judge, Adeel Mangi, appointed to an appellate court by a Senate vote, NBC News describes this appointee as being “embattled”, but seems hesitant to actually explain why those dastardly Republicans are making this a tough confirmation.

Well after giving quotes to White House officials critical of GOP opposition, it takes ten paragraphs before there is light mention of possible terrorist sympathizing with Mangi, and no mention of him sitting on a board with a former terrorist member of The Weather Underground.

"Riffed from the Headlines" is Townhall's daily VIP feature covering the nation's deeply flawed aspects of journalism, where Brad Slager looks to bring accountability to the mishaps, malaprops, misdeeds, manipulations, malpractice, and manufactured narratives in mainstream media.