A week into
Biden’s reign and the media’s fawning over Saint Joe has to stop. He can’t get
a free pass just because he’s not Trump
28 Jan, 2021 13:14
FILE PHOTO: Joe Biden speaks about his plan to administer coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines to the US population during a news conference at Biden's transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, US, January 15, 2021 © REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
By Charlie Stone,
author and journalist who has worked for the BBC, several national newspapers
in the UK and international media.
Yes, we know much of the
US press couldn’t stand Donald Trump and were relieved to see him go. But their
Joe Biden love-in and lack of proper scrutiny of the new president is becoming
properly embarrassing.
Never mind Covid-19. Saint Joe will cure cancer, just you watch. Then he’ll
fix the climate and put an end to all racism, sexism and homophobia. All within
his first 100 days.
Give the new president a year or two, and there’ll be no more wars. He’ll
personally disarm every nuclear missile. There’ll be no more fistfights in
bars, even, just hugs and kisses and free drinks all around. Especially on St
Patrick’s Day.
And, if you ask him nicely, I’m sure the old dude can probably have a quick
chat with God and get the Beatles back together again. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I
know… two of them are dead. But this is Saint Joe we’re talking about. He can
do anything!
All you have to do is watch the US TV news networks or read an American
newspaper or website right now, and President Biden is the superhero for whom
the country has long been waiting. The cold, hard eyes of the press no longer
stare at the White House. They’re filled with love, almost tearful.
And this Biden bloke could get away with anything. He could take a naked
power nap with an inflatable nurse on the South Lawn and the news networks
would switch off their live feeds and pretend it wasn’t happening. Bugger the
ratings boost they’d receive.
Saint Joe is now 78 years old – the oldest incumbent the Oval Office has
ever seen. The Resolute Desk has an old man sitting at it who is resolutely
part of the political establishment. And he has been for almost 50 years. There
isn’t actually anything new to say about Saint Joe. He’s Irish, he’s Catholic,
he has suffered awful personal tragedies. You know all this already.
Call me old-fashioned, but I thought the core purpose of being a journalist
was to hold power to account? Even if you like the guy. It’s actually even more
important if you like the guy, because those personal feelings can blind you to
the facts. It’s your job.
Public relations, though, that’s an entirely different trade. Drink more
cola. Pump more gas. Eat more fast food. My toothpaste is better than theirs,
etc.
Almost the entire news machine in the US has become a public relations
operation for President Joseph R. Biden. ‘State media’, so often lambasted as
utterly fawning by the American press, would be red-faced in shame. Chairman
Mao would be well pleased.
Inaugurations are, I guess, always bound to be vomit-inducing and
self-aggrandising celebrations for the Americans. Fair enough. Y’all don’t have
royal weddings or coronations to look forward to. But can you turn off that tap
now, please? Saint Joe was anointed over a week ago.
Can the president’s press secretary, Jen Psaki, get an easier ride? It’s a surprise nobody from the White House press corps has asked her what her favourite colour is. It was left to a solitary Fox News reporter to quiz her on why it’s apparently OK not to wear a mask on federal property despite a presidential mandate if you’re the president or a member of his family.
And where have all the late-night talk show comedians gone? Surely Saint
Joe and his doddery old-man malapropisms, his Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses, his
constant losses of train of thought, his folksy way of doing things are all
satire gold? Or maybe it’s impolite to take the mickey out of an old-age
pensioner? OK, that’s fair enough. But this OAP is president of the most
powerful country on earth, and has his hands on the nuclear codes. He might
think he’s trying to change channel on the TV.
I get it. The US media, apart from Fox News and a handful of others on the
right, absolutely despises Donald Trump and everything he stood for, although
what, really, did Trump actually stand for? Trump stood for Trump, nothing
more.
It must, surely, have been a rush – a real joy – for many journalists and
commentators to see those trailer-trash morons swarm into the Capitol building.
If the US democratic system didn't buckle, which – come on guys, get real – was
never very likely, then Trump was toast for sure. Even if the crowds had got
their hands on Mike Pence and done unspeakable things to him with the House
Speaker’s lectern.
The US media should take a step back and take a deep breath. Why did
Trump’s derogatory phrases such as ‘fake news’ and ‘lamestream media’ stick so
easily? Why did millions of Americans find them so easy to absorb?
Trump didn’t arrive in a vacuum. These words resonated because the power
players and the media seemed way, way, way too cosy and detached – especially
in the Barack Obama era. Trump may no longer be centre stage, but there are
still millions out there in the audience.
Over 74 million people did vote for Trump. And, just because you can’t get
your heads around how that’s even possible, it’s still an absolute fact. They
voted for him partly because he was resolutely not part of the status quo.
And not all that Trump did was bad. He was probably right to scream about
China because, sooner or later, it will take over from the US as the world’s
largest economy. And China doesn’t have to live by the rules of the game. If
President Xi Jinping decrees that the country will make more microchips, there
shall be more microchips. Or cheese. Or potatoes. Whatever. A command economy
doesn’t play by the rules.
Consider also the World Health Organization (WHO). Yes, it was a petulant,
teenage act by Trump to just quit and walk away. But the pandemic has proven
that it’s absolutely not fit for purpose and should be replaced with something
more effective. It’s yet another cosy club, like the United Nations itself.
To general acclaim, though, it was one of Saint Joe’s first acts to rejoin
the WHO, with the whip of a pen. Fair enough. There does, surely, have to be
some kind of global health organisation, now more than ever. But what? Where’s
the media discussion of what it should be? All we get is applause for
Biden’s decision.
Never mind the nuclear codes – the president’s pen is actually his
mightiest weapon. He has so far signed more than three dozen executive
orders covering issues including climate change, Covid-19 relief, race and
gender identity and sexual orientation. These are all hardcore political acts,
worthy of serious debate.
One thing’s for sure:
more will follow, with the press cheering them – rather than providing proper
analysis – all the way. That isn’t healthy. And so, America, beware: as Jimi
Hendrix might have sung: ‘Hey, Joe! Where you going with that pen in your
hand...’
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