A New Cope

Is Joe Biden getting a raw deal from the media?

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Joe Biden speaks to the press on the South Lawn of the White House on February 19, 2024. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/NurPhoto/Getty Images)

“Do the NYT editors really want a Republican victory in November?” author Joyce Carol Oates asked in a tweet Wednesday.

The answer, I suspect, is, er, no. A newspaper produced by and for America’s liberal intelligentsia likely does not want a boorish coup-plotting proto-fascist returned to power. For Oates to entertain the possibility, the evidence she has of a sudden right-wing shift inside the Times must be shocking and overwhelming, right?

The answer to that is also no. The “evidence” in this case turns out to be a single headline at the paper that was tweaked to place a slightly more negative spin on Joe Biden’s latest inexcusable giveaway to student-loan debtors.

It would be comforting to know that Oates’ overreaction was an isolated case of Very Online brain worms, but the social media outcry at the headline among the left was apparently loud enough to prompt the Times to tweak it again, removing a reference to Biden being “beleaguered.” Someday, perhaps, when the history of the 2024 election is written, scholars will point back to that copy edit as the moment the race was won and the slaying of the Trumpian dragon assured.

Absurd episodes like this one are happening lately among Democrats more often than you might think.

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  1. Avatar photo
    Ben Connelly

    “Someday, perhaps, when the history of the 2024 election is written, scholars will point back to that copy edit as the moment the race was won and the slaying of the Trumpian dragon assured.”

    That made me laugh

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  2. Mmiller

    Seems to me we're caught in an endless spiral of tit for tat. I wonder how many excesses on either side can be directly attributed to a similar but less severe excess on the other. For example, if the mainstream media had been evenhanded rather than so clearly biased towards the left, would Fox etc. have drifted so insanely far to the right? While Trump is truly awful, if the MS media had covered him neutrally, would so many Trumpers have left MS media for other, more biased but towards the right, news sources? Fake news begets fake news.

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  3. AJS

    In my admitted limit election experienced, complaining about how the media covering you and 3rd parties is a generally a very fancy way of saying your candidate sucks.

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  4. Sjsarich

    Nick has to deal with his own “Big Cope,” which deals with his apocalyptic view of what a second Trump term would do to our own and world view of the country.
    Does one remember the disdain of Germany’s UN delegation as Trump warned them about their reliance on Russian natural gas?
    Mercedes Benz has not too subtly told the EV loving Biden & EU that production of EVs will be reduced, if not abandoned to hybrids and combustion engine vehicles.
    How does the EU’s opinion of the U.S. now square with Biden’s decision to suspend LNG permitting thus jeopardizing their energy security?
    As Europe turns away from the deadly policies of transgenderism and institutes more commonsense abortion policies what must they think of the U.S. policies in these same spheres.
    Let us not forget the appeasement of Iran. The less than stellar backing of Israel and the disastrous malfeasance on Biden’s open border “policies!”
    I don’t know what constitutes a favorable view of the U.S. by Nick but if it is what it is today then Nick has a Big Cope of his own to deal with!

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  5. Avatar photo
    Soniak21

    >>But the fact that right-wing media has descended so far and so remorselessly into abject propaganda during the Trump era might understandably make liberals defensive—too defensive—about minor ideological sins committed by sympathetic media outlets like the Times. Their side says Trump won the election while our side is busy sneering that Joe Biden is “beleaguered.” How are we supposed to win this information war?<<

    This mostly sums up my thoughts on the reasons for the Democrats' Big Cope. There's a feeling something to the effect of "With friends like this, who needs enemies?" But in the half-hour since I finished reading this column, I've had a nagging feeling that there's something missing from this argument... and now I think I've got it:

    In the Dems' admittedly self-serving estimation, this isn't (just) a battle between Left and Right—it's a battle between good and evil. It's as if ruthless, bloodthirsty zombies are rampaging through our streets, gobbling brains without a shred of humanity or remorse... and our genteel media wants to treat the zombies with fairness and professionalism—maybe even glibness. "Zombie Spirits High at Local Brain Banquet, Even as Debate Rages About Their Tactics," a headline might read. (Sidebar: "Is Anti-Zombie Movement Getting a Little Over-the-Top?")

    Now... this isn't my view. This is how I think it's seen by the brand of Dems we're talking about. "Here we are fighting for our very survival against a ruthless enemy prepared to end democracy as we know it," they say, "and all the media can do is nitpick our side while the bad guys get away with murder."

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  6. DALE Nathan SWITZER

    The right wing media would most definitely cover Trump shooting someone on 5th avenue. "Yankee gets what he deserves"

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  7. Mary Stine

    Old person (74) weighing in here:
    Did none of the pundits (including Nate Silver) and the TD staffer, and the commentary here have any whipsmart elders in their family?? Because I did. I would have put my Grandfather Morgan up against most men his junior. Not only was he mentally clear and competent, he had the benefit of several decades of living
    to develop both wisdom and compassion. I've known other seniors whose minds were still sharp as tacks.
    The facts here are these: Trump never has spoken in complete, logical sentences. He deals in fantasy, ego stroking (his own, mostly) and puffery. He's been spouting the same tired slogans for decades. He's learned zero wisdom or compassion over his lifetime and rather seems to have honed his revulsion for those wounded or disabled. His greatest skill has been convincing millions of disgruntled citizens that he is on their side and cares about their interests, that he is their only reliable option. I remain gobsmacked that so many of my fellow Americans are still deluded by him.
    Biden is undeniably old, but not as feeble mentally or physically as Trump. He also has decades of real political knowledge of not only our US politicians, but international leaders as well. When he says he knows Bibi Netanyahu, we should believe him, not Trump.
    As for those who want to replace Biden...who? If there was a Dem with the name recognition and fundraising ability besides him, I'd be thrilled to support that person. My suggestion would be Amy Klobuchar, but the problem is beyond mere name recognition. The problem of finding suitable candidates is the same one most US businesses have faced for a couple of decades: too few people trained and ready for the management jobs, or any jobs, than are available. The 50 year olds that should be standing in the wings are too few and far between, and many of those got disgusted by the corruption and hypocrisy and bowed out early, especially those capable of independent thought and bipartisanship. Ben Sasse is exhibit A.
    Our other problem that prevents finding good candidates is our bubble life. Everyone is looking for the candidate to reinforce their own, individual bubble of information and lifestyle, resulting in more single issue voters and few voters who care about the country, the Constitution and freedom. Businesses, churches and politicians have been working so tirelessly to hone their unique appeal to a quantified group that they've thrown off entirely the desire for community with others not exactly like them. Worse, the most faithful adherents of bubbledom have now become so intolerant that casual violence, including only slander and threatening violence, is accepted. What sane person wants to let themselves in for that?
    The press and community leaders could go a long way here by asking people to leave their bubbles and see their opposites as humans deserving of respect, not hate. Of course, the ones that have built their houses on the sand of hate won't do that...they'll double down.

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  8. AD Tippet

    Nick conspicuously lets liberals off the hook. I find it unfathomable that the the GOP would select Trump who lost BEFORE Jan 6.

    So the thinking on the Dem side is to role the dice on Biden? Biden’s age was a factor in 2020 but was shelved due to Covid and at leas the man could mix it up for 90 minutes, twice. Today could he do 15? The SOTU will be interesting but Dems backed Biden and they have to live with that.

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  9. Trichwages

    Excellent analysis, Nick. I wholeheartedly concur.

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  10. Mccumberrick

    If you want your vote to have the greatest impact possible you should vote for Haley. A vote for Biden will make no difference in the long run. Not voting will make no difference in the long run. A vote for Haley will certainly make a difference in chipping away at Trump.

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