Mark Halperin:
The reason I spend so much time talking about this is because I care about the media. I want two strong political parties in America. Most people trying to hold the media accountable for what I call the biggest media scandal in American history—the coverage of Joe Biden’s cognitive decline—are on the right.
Jason Miller, who works for President Trump, tweets about this often, highlighting the lack of credibility on this issue. Byron York of the conservative Washington Examiner wrote this morning, “Understanding the press’s handling of then-President Joe Biden’s obvious physical and mental infirmity is probably more a matter for psychologists than media analysts.” There’s some truth there because understanding why the media continues to fail does involve human nature and psychology.
Erick Erickson, another conservative, wrote in his newsletter: “Now that Joe Biden has lost, the truth can be told, except for the press’s own complicity in the cover-up.” I couldn’t agree more. People in the media writing about this book now ignore the media’s own role, which is a vital part of what happened. Erickson also writes: “Had Biden somehow gotten reelected, the press would still deny his decline.” That’s an incredible statement—but true.
If Fox News had treated a Republican president’s decline like MSNBC, CNN, the New York Times, or the Washington Post treated Biden’s, Brian Stelter at CNN, Oliver Darcy, and other media critics would demand accountability. But the press gives MSNBC a pass because progressives protect progressives. That’s the view on the right, and it’s correct. The media still covers up their failures to expose what tens of millions of Americans saw clearly: Biden’s decline. Why? They wanted to protect Biden and prevent Trump from winning, they’re biased toward Democrats generally, and they were intimidated by Biden’s team not to report on it.
The press failed before, and it’s failing again. This week is a missed opportunity. Read the New York Times, Washington Post, or watch liberal cable news. They’re not holding themselves accountable for their failure.
What’s happening now isn’t just Jake Tapper’s failure. We’ll talk about him because he co-wrote the book, but he’s representative of my colleagues’ mindset, which is to blame Biden and other Democrats for not speaking out. A few Democrats, like Congressman Ro Khanna, have been honest enough to say, “I didn’t see Biden’s decline privately, but it was obvious publicly, and Democrats should have insisted he step down.” But that’s rare.
So, we have the media blaming Biden and other Democrats. Democratic officials blame Biden for running. Biden’s team blames the press and Democrats. It’s a circle of blame. I understand it’s human nature to blame others rather than admitting years of systemic failure. But blaming others prevents reflection. I’m asking Democrats, and especially my colleagues in the media, to reflect.
Let’s talk about Jake Tapper. Until recently, Tapper and his publisher claimed Jake was one of the hard-charging reporters trying to uncover Biden’s cognitive decline. We discussed previously how easily that could be disproven. He didn’t bring up the topic, clearly not aggressively. Ironically, his co-author Alex Thompson is one of the few reporters who actually did.
Tapper’s new strategy this week has two parts, neither about true accountability. First, he’s shifting from saying, “I was on the front lines,” to “Maybe I could have done better.” Here’s Jake Tapper on CNN Wednesday morning:
Jake Tapper (clip):
I think some of the criticism is fair, to be honest—of me. Certainly not speaking for anyone else. Knowing now what I know, looking back at my Biden coverage, I did cover some of these issues, but not enough. I look back with humility.
Mark Halperin:
The second part of Tapper’s strategy is to cling to those who actually did good work—like his co-author Alex Thompson. Also, he’s aligning himself with Wall Street Journal reporters who wrote one of the few articles about Biden’s cognitive decline during the campaign. I’m glad they wrote the story, but frankly, it was weak—mostly quoting Republicans, not Democrats, and with relatively mild examples compared to what we all saw publicly.
Here’s Tapper this week embracing those Wall Street Journal reporters, calling them heroes:
Jake Tapper (clip):
Joining me now are two heroic reporters who intensely covered this during the Biden years—Annie Linskey and Siobhan Hughes from the Wall Street Journal. They reported last June, quote: “Behind closed doors, Biden shows signs of slipping… The White House said Biden’s critics were playing partisan politics.” This isn’t the first time you’ve been here. Your journalism was vital, and the Democrats’ smear campaign against you two was disgraceful.
Mark Halperin:
Tapper’s right that Democrats attacked those reporters unfairly, denying what was clearly visible to everyone. Biden’s decline wasn’t a secret—you didn’t need private meetings to notice it. It was obvious, despite Biden’s limited schedule and avoidance of press conferences.
But here’s what’s incredible: when the Wall Street Journal published that story in June 2024, before the critical debate, Tapper didn’t celebrate their heroism. Instead, he brought Senator Chris Coons, a Biden ally, on CNN and allowed Coons to dismiss the story almost unchallenged.
Here’s Jake Tapper last June with Chris Coons:
Jake Tapper (clip):
The Journal interviewed 45 people who attended or were briefed on Biden meetings, noting criticism mostly from Republicans, but some Democrats anonymously expressed concern. Have you heard from anyone concerned Biden might be a little slower?
Sen. Chris Coons (clip):
No, none. Is President Biden up to the job? Absolutely. Have colleagues expressed concerns about the character difference between him and Trump? Absolutely. Concerns about Trump versus Biden? Absolutely. I don’t hear much coverage of Trump’s similar slips or mishaps. There’s relentless focus by some media on minor slips by Biden, typical for someone with a demanding 14-hour-a-day schedule.
Mark Halperin:
Again, you must allow guests to speak, but if Tapper truly believed those Journal reporters were heroic, he should’ve pushed back harder, challenged the Biden spin, and defended the reporters. But he didn’t. He didn’t invite Republicans or independent voters to support the Journal’s reporting. Instead, he let Biden’s strongest defender dismiss the story entirely.
