And the other one has always been intellectually and morally challenged. Now….?
The networks don’t seem to realize this. Or they don’t care:
In the week following President Joe Biden’s April campaign launch, CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC continuously emphasized Biden’s age, mentioning it 588 times, while mentioning former President Donald Trump’s age only 72 times.
On April 25, Biden announced his reelection bid for 2024. Biden, largely focused on campaigning to protect “freedoms” against “MAGA extremism,” has long dealt with right-wing criticism of his age. In the week following his campaign announcement, Biden’s age and mental “fitness” were repeatedly topics of conversation across cable news.
CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC often described Biden’s age as his campaign’s biggest hurdle. But the networks overwhelmingly failed to mention that his most likely Republican opponent, current GOP front-runner Donald Trump, is only three years younger.From April 25 through May 1, 2023, the week following Biden’s announcement, the three largest cable news outlets mentioned the president’s age nearly 600 times.
Fox News accounted for the most mentions of Biden’s age (236), with only 9 references to Trump’s age, while CNN mentioned Biden’s age 180 times, compared with only 29 mentions of Trump’s. MSNBC mentioned Biden’s age 172 times, with only 34 mentions of Trump’s.
This is journalistic malpractice. It’s one thing to talk about Biden’s age. People are concerned and it’s a legit topic even though I think they make way too much of it. But to not point out that Trump is nearly the same age and has shown even more signs of slippage is wrong. Just because he dyes his hair, trowels on bronzer and plays golf (taking his golf cart on to the green) doesn’t mean he isn’t an old guy too. And since he seems more and more hysterical every day, I think he’s even less stable than before and that’s saying something.