CNN uses Biden’s foot injury to fawn over transparency of incoming administration

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President-elect Joe Biden sustained a hairline fracture in his right foot while playing with one of his dogs on Sunday, and CNN used the injury to fawn over how transparent it thinks the incoming administration will compared to President Trump's. 

“The transparency coming from Biden's transition team about hairline fractures in the President-elect's foot suggests that the effort by the Trump White House to actively obfuscate when asked basic questions about the President's health is over,” CNN editor-at-large Chris Cillizza wrote.

JOE BIDEN'S DOCTOR GIVES UPDATE AFTER THE 78-YEAR-OLD GETS HURT PLAYING WITH DOG MAJOR

Biden's team first confirmed his injury, saying that the 78-year-old twisted his ankle while playing with his dog Major and would be examined by an orthopedist "out of an abundance of caution" then provided an update later in the day.

"Initial X-rays are reassuring that there is no obvious fracture and he will be getting an additional CT for more detailed imaging," Dr. Kevin O'Connor said in a statement. "Follow-up CT scan confirmed hairline (small) fractures of President-elect Biden's lateral and intermediate cuneiform bones, which are in the mid-foot. It is anticipated that he will likely require a walking boot for several weeks." 

Reporters covering the president-elect were not afforded the opportunity to see Biden enter the doctor's office, despite multiple requests. While Trump was criticized at every step during his presidency, criticism of Biden’s team not allowing reporters to see him enter the doctor’s office were sparse.

Once the injury was diagnosed, the hyper-partisan CNN used it as the impetus to bash the Trump administration.

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Cillizza praised the way Biden’s team handled the injury with a column headlined, “Why Joe Biden's broken foot reveals how different his White House will be from Donald Trump's.”

The CNN pundit noted that Trump was famously secretive about an unscheduled 2019 visit to Walter Reed Medical Center but Biden’s staffers “quickly” updated reporters on his injury.

“Notice the difference? Now, I -- and probably you -- don't know or care all that much about Joe Biden's ‘lateral and intermediate cuneiform bones.’ But that isn't really the point,” Cillizza wrote.

“The point is this: Transparency in matters of health and, well, everything else, is fundamental to a functioning democracy,” Cillizza continued. “And we have had the opposite of that for these last four years.”

DePauw University professor and media critic Jeffrey McCall thinks CNN and other mainstream outlets need to take it easy when it comes to applauding Biden for coming forward with details.

“The traditional media should not be giving the Biden camp so much praise for transparency regarding an injured foot. It is easy to manage transparency when dealing with a foot injury while also mentioning a family pet. Plenty of good optics here,” McCall told Fox News.

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“More than sitting back to take detailed medical reports from the Biden team about hairline fractures in a foot, perhaps the press should explore more about why the Biden campaign put a lid on so many days during the campaign, or even inquire more about the circumstances under which the former vice president was in a position to get hurt by his dog,” McCall added.

“Of course, the media will look for every opportunity to compare transparency of the Biden camp to the Trump administration, but doing so on the basis of a foot injury and a walking boot is quite the waste of time.”  

The Associated Press and Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report.