One reporter told CNN they didn't want to give 'credence' to bad faith claims that Biden was 'senile'
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Some members of the White House press corps who have regular exposure to President Biden are now admitting they were "turned off" from exposing his mental decline before last week's debate in part because of the attention it has got from "right-wing media."
Since Biden's shocking debate performance, the legacy media has faced intense backlash from critics accusing them of participating in a cover-up on behalf of the president.
CNN reported Tuesday that reporters working from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. are now expressing regret for not pursuing the political bombshell more seriously.
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President Biden's shocking debate performance has sparked chaos among Democrats and a flurry of calls for him to exit the presidential race. (Getty Images)
However, some are admitting they didn't want to feed into the "right-wing talking point" about 81-year-old Biden.
"Biden’s age was also a right-wing talking point for years, something the White House was quick to point out to reporters, which may have inadvertently turned off any serious investigation," CNN reported.
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The report accused "right-wing media figures" of sharing "deceptively edited clips" of Biden, citing the one from the G7 Summit where Biden stepped away from other world leaders to give a thumbs up to parachutists off-camera, prompting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to corral him back to the group for a photo-op, rejecting allegations he was "wandering off."
"The right-wing media was calling him senile from day one, and that wasn’t true," one unnamed reporter told CNN. "Then whenever you report on the age you were in some ways solidifying, giving credence to some people that were actually of bad faith."
CNN reported that some members of the White House press corps. were "turned off" from covering President Biden's mental decline because of the hype it got from "right-wing media." (Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Critics slammed that excerpt from the CNN report on social media.
"By merely existing and calling a spade a spade, Conservative media ‘turned off’ legacy reporters from seriously investigating Biden's mental acuity," Washington Free Beacon reporter Andrew Kerr reacted.
By merely existing and calling a spade a spade, Conservative media "turned off" legacy reporters from seriously investigating Biden's mental acuity. @CNN reports.https://t.co/tydtBWNUwB pic.twitter.com/R2jvHV1NMV
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) July 3, 2024
"How pathetic and lame. I thought journalism was about ‘following the facts,’" Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich knocked the White House reporters.
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How pathetic and lame. I thought journalism was about “following the facts.” https://t.co/qj69ctuehG
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) July 3, 2024
"The entire media had no interest in investigating Biden’s obvious senility because their political opposition was accurately describing him as senile They’re just straight up admitting that they have no interest in stories that hurt their political party," Outkick writer Ian Miller said.
The entire media had no interest in investigating Biden’s obvious senility because their political opposition was accurately describing him as senile
— Ian Miller (@ianmSC) July 3, 2024
They’re just straight up admitting that they have no interest in stories that hurt their political party https://t.co/cMXcRAQlBo
President Biden remains defiant as he vows to stay in the presidential race following his disastrous debate performance. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Biden's shocking debate performance has become a political earthquake with wide swaths of the liberal media calling for him to withdraw from the presidential race.
Both Biden and the White House have repeatedly insisted he is staying in the contest. The White House also denied reports Wednesday that Biden told a key ally he was considering stepping aside. Top Democrats have also rallied behind the president.
Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to
