Deja vu: Why the media are turning against both Trump and Biden for 2024
Presidents Trump and Biden were elected despite the media's efforts
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It suddenly seems the media establishment is pushing back hard against a Biden-Trump rematch.
The current and former presidents won the office successively despite media mockery, skepticism and, in Donald Trump’s case, outright hostility. You might think a modicum of humility is called for.
Joe Biden says he’s running, but most of the media isn’t buying it.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Trump has given every indication he wants to run, including telling associates, who then leak to the press, that he might announce any day now to clear the GOP field.
And yet the interwebs and the airwaves are filled with stories and pontification that neither of these septuagenarians can win their party’s nomination, and shouldn’t even try.
The current and former presidents won the office successively despite media mockery, skepticism and, in Donald Trump’s case, outright hostility. You might think a modicum of humility is called for. (Getty Images)
No wonder Biden’s resentment of the media is growing, while Trump’s has been off the charts for a half-dozen years. What do they know? Nearly all the pundits buried Biden after his early losses in 2020, and Trump’s 2016 candidacy was deemed a publicity stunt to the point that the HuffPost only covered him in the Entertainment section.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}When you win the White House, you tend to conclude that you know more than the journalistic naysayers.
It’s not that both men don’t have enough baggage to fill an empty Air Force One. But it’s also the height of hubris to declare they can’t or won’t run.
The media don’t have much warmth for Ron DeSantis – and vice versa – but they are heavily hyping his potential candidacy. Every state poll that puts him within striking distance of Trump gets played as a major story. He’s been cast as the Trumpist candidate without the polarizing personality.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Florida governor deserves credit for positioning himself as a national contender during his four-year term. But would he really challenge Trump, or is he a Plan B guy? How would he withstand the scrutiny of a national campaign? We have no idea.
Trump has given every indication he wants to run, including telling associates, who then leak to the press, that he might announce any day now to clear the GOP field. (Getty Images)
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Trump knows he would limit himself to $2,900 hard-money individual donations if he legally declares this early and be unable to use his PAC money. But he gets the same media boost if he tells people he’s about to run, then doesn’t, knowing full well his advisers are talking to reporters.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The fourth estate’s conventional wisdom is that the Jan. 6 hearings have badly damaged Trump – through testimony from Republican witnesses – by reminding people of how he pressured Justice Department officials, state lawmakers and allegedly wanted armed protesters to march on the Capitol. That may be true. But we heard this throughout the Mueller probe, two impeachments and other controversies.
As for Biden, it’s practically a feeding frenzy right now. Ever since the New York Times opened the door to questions about the president’s age and fitness for another term, more Democrats are going on the record questioning whether a second bid is a good idea. The headlines range from the Atlantic ("Why Biden Shouldn’t Run in 2024," "Is Biden a Man Out of His Time?") to CNN ("‘I Want Him to Throw Some Punch’: Why Some Dems Are Frustrated with Biden").
No wonder sources told the Times that the president and his team see the speculation as "a lack of respect from their party and the press."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In fairness, news outlets that didn’t report Biden’s weakened state would be guilty of malpractice. His approval rating has sunk to about 40%. He is drawing flak for mismanaging crises, such as the border and the baby formula shortage, and not delivering results on such issues as climate change, voting rights and police reform.
He’s also taking heat the last two weeks for not speaking out forcefully on the Roe reversal and the July 4 mass shooting. (The president did, of course, obtain a bipartisan gun safety and mental health bill, which is all he’s going to get out of this Congress.) Biden’s strongest performance, leading the western alliance for Ukraine, is not much of a voting issue.
Biden’s strongest performance, leading the western alliance for Ukraine, is not much of a voting issue. (Fox News )
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}And that has now morphed into an assumption that he’ll have to pull the plug.
A Harvard-Harris poll found that 71% of those surveyed don’t think Biden should run again – and that 61% say Trump shouldn’t run again.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The irony is that their fates may be tied together. Partisans are saying that for all his woes, Biden may be the only person who can beat Trump again. Partisans on the other side are saying that Trump would have trouble defeating anyone other than Biden.
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If Trump doesn’t run, part of Biden’s rationale evaporates and the Democrats would be more likely to turn to a younger candidate. If Biden doesn’t run, the Republicans would be more likely to want someone who’s not still relitigating the last election.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But that too is speculation. Predictive punditry, as we have learned, is risky business.