Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who recently joined Joe Biden’s reelection campaign as a senior adviser, took to MSNBC to criticize the editorial boards of major newspapers for writing pieces critical of the president.
After Biden’s disastrous debate performance last week, The New York Times and The Atlanta-Journal Constitution published pieces from their respective editorial boards calling on the president to step aside.
“Biden’s candidacy was grounded in his incumbency and the belief of Democratic leaders and pollsters that he stood the best chance of defeating Trump in November. That is no longer the case,” the AJC board wrote. “That reality may be difficult to accept for a man whose personal and political lives have been defined by resiliency, but it is the truth.”
AJC’s editorial board also said it was an insult to the American people for Biden allies to claim his performance was just a bad night.
“This wasn’t a bad night; it was confirmation of the worst fears of some of Biden’s most ardent supporters — that after 36 years in the U.S. Senate, eight more as vice president and a term in the White House, age has finally caught up to him,” the board added.
The New York Times, meanwhile, argued Biden could best serve the country by stepping aside.
“As it stands, the president is engaged in a reckless gamble. There are Democratic leaders better equipped to present clear, compelling and energetic alternatives to a second Trump presidency,” the board wrote. “There is no reason for the party to risk the stability and security of the country by forcing voters to choose between Mr. Trump’s deficiencies and those of Mr. Biden. It’s too big a bet to simply hope Americans will overlook or discount Mr. Biden’s age and infirmity that they see with their own eyes.”
Bottoms claimed such pieces amount to election interference.
"Editorial boards are supposed to honor fair elections, and I don’t think it’s fair when an editorial board with 10 people sitting in a room are trying to influence an election, especially in a state like Georgia," she said.
As one X user pointed out, Democrats don't know how to handle the media turning on them.
Translation: “This isn’t fair, the media is supposed to be on our side.”
— The Political Scoreboard (@TPScoreboard) July 2, 2024