The Trump-trashing elitist media erupted in outrage when President Donald Trump told ABC White House reporter Mary Bruce she was a "terrible person" and "terrible reporter" and ABC was "fake news." Bruce was throwing hardballs at Trump and Saudi Arabia's crown prince.
It's easy for reporters to tout Bruce as a courageous journalist just doing her job. But they all ignored the other half of the equation: Is this what she did with President Joe Biden? The easy answer is, "A thousand times no" -- as in you could probably list a thousand times she repeated everything Team Biden told her to say.
Exhibit A came from a Fox News scoop on Sept. 30. Emma Colton reported on a rare Biden press conference on April 26, 2023, in the Rose Garden. Biden had a note card including a thumbnail photo of Bruce, her name, outlet and then two questions. The first concerned his reelection bid: "2024: How do YOU view the path forward? How do YOU think about YOUR place in history?"
Bruce's actual question was similar, if more direct: "You've said questions about your age are legitimate and your response is always 'just watch me,' but the country is watching, and recent polling shows that 70% of Americans ... believe you shouldn't run again. What do you say to them?"
If Bruce told Team Biden in advance what she was going to ask, how does she now pose as fearlessly holding presidents accountable? In fact, Bruce relentlessly repeated Biden's happy talk about his mental fitness.
In February 2024, when special counsel Robert Hur declared he would not indict Biden for improperly keeping classified documents before he was president because a jury wouldn't find him mentally fit, Bruce underlined everything was just fine, fine, fine.
"Biden's legal team in a letter saying, quote, 'We do not believe that the report's treatment of President Biden's memory is accurate or appropriate,'" she repeated.
Then she added her own supportive spin: "But overall, George, I have to tell you, the image that you get of the President that you take away largely mirrors that of his public persona. He staunchly defends his handling of classified material, has detailed recollection of events from years ago. He is very conversational. He even jokes with the committee. And, yes, he does go on some -- some lengthy tangents and tends to ramble, as Joe Biden does."
Days later, when the White House physician Kevin O'Connor released a report on Biden's health, Bruce sounded like State-Run TV. Biden's "doctor says the President is fit to serve" with "no new health concerns over the last year," and no "mental fitness test" was done because O'Connor "didn't think it was necessary and the White House argues the President passes a cognitive test every day just by doing his job."
How does that look now? Dr. O'Connor took the Fifth rather than testify to the House Oversight Committee this year, but Bruce didn't report on that.
Then Biden delivered what became his last State of the Union speech, screaming into the House chamber, and Bruce was typically promotional: "This was a feisty speech that, at times, felt more like a rowdy campaign event than a traditional State of the Union address ... the President trying to show voters he is ready for a fight and has what it takes to serve another four years."
Team Trump has every reason to call ABC "Fake News," since it's become the very worst network for skewing all its coverage to favor the Democrats. Biden & Co. never called Mary Bruce a "terrible reporter." She gave them everything they wanted.
Tim Graham is director of media analysis at the Media Research Center and executive editor of the blog NewsBusters.org. To find out more about Tim Graham and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2025 CREATORS.COM
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