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Democratic Custodial Services – VARIOUS OUTLETS
So, the people demonized half of the year were correct about Biden’s mental state.
It surely stands as the biggest media scandal of the year, and should amount among the biggest for some time to come. The Wall Street Journal reports on sourcing from inside the White House on how far gone Joe Biden is from a functional condition. Basically, he is involved in a fraction of the official duties, and the jobs normally done from the Resolute Desk have been farmed out to others inside the president’s circle:
The shell constructed for the pandemic was never fully taken down, and his advanced age hardened it. To adapt the White House around the needs of a diminished leader, they told visitors to keep meetings focused. Senior advisers were often put into roles that some administration officials and lawmakers thought Biden should occupy, with people such as National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, senior counselor Steve Ricchetti and National Economic Council head Lael Brainard and her predecessor frequently in the position of being go-betweens for the president.
This reality is completely unacceptable for our leadership, and the press worked to shield and protect this reality. Not just from a lack of reporting, but they actually fought back against those exposing the truth.
Presidents always have gatekeepers. In Biden’s case, the walls around him were higher and the controls greater as aides managed the limitations of the oldest president in American history.https://t.co/XAZTDHp8Z9
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) December 19, 2024
Both Kinds of Standards – WASHINGTON POST
Does this mean you like what he did, you just don’t like that he did it?!
The furor over the failing of the emergency spending bill to keep the government operational has been deeply revealing. The voices from both parties squealing over the killing of what was supposed to be a stop-gap bill, that suddenly exploded into a 1,500 page spending monolith that included crap like a congressional pay increase and funding for a football stadium for the Washington Redskins (or whatever they are called today).
At the Washington Post, Jeff Stein had a pair of curious stances – within about 12 hours or so of each other. Stein seemed concerned that Elon Musk managed to help pressure Republicans to turn away from this problem of a spending bill, due to the profligate pork attachments. Then Stein comes out and touts how his outlet used a FOIA request to expose some gross spending the government has been involved with recently. How do you display this unacceptable spending, but complain that Musk fights against it?
@WashingtonPost: “It’s unreal that Musk is leveraging to shut down this spending bill over spending.”
— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) December 19, 2024
ALSO WA PO: “Look at this wasteful spending we found out about!” pic.twitter.com/BBPZH7kYqa
BlueAnon – VARIOUS OUTLETS
How many people will be accused of ruining the country before Trump is running the country?
There is quite a lot of telling outrage toward Elon Musk for helping to halt this bill. It is leading to hysterical accusations that Musk is the real leader of the country. This is where so many in the press find themselves today. Consider what we have been told over the past months ahead of the election:
- Trump is going to be an authoritarian dictator.
- Vladimir Putin is actually running Trump’s administration.
- Elon Musk has purchased his way to running the country.
We are going to need a manual and a slide rule to follow the conspiracists on the left and in the media to know where we are supposed to direct our ginned up outrage.
The richest man on earth bought our government https://t.co/1ORvcHgZCq
— Krystal Ball (@krystalball) December 18, 2024
Reporting on the Mirror – ABC NEWS
Ahhhh, so THAT’s why they folded so quickly.
As the press complex rails and wails about ABC News settling its defamation lawsuit with Donald Trump, they are decrying the move as a chilling threat against the media of this country.
However, a new wrinkle has come out:
George Stephanopoulos was repeatedly told by his executive producer not to “use the word ‘rape'” before going on the air to discuss Donald Trump but the ABC News anchor ignored the warning — a decision that cost the network $16 million, The Post has learned. Parent company Disney’s capitulation last week in the defamation lawsuit by Trump against ABC News and Stephanopoulos shocked media and legal experts, but the damning revelation could help explain why Mouse House CEO Bob Iger signed off on the settlement so quickly.
It now appears rather obvious that the network knew if this detail was to be exposed in a trial that it would have little standing and stood to face a lengthy and costly case. ABC appears to have gotten off easy.
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos was repeatedly warned not to use word ‘rape’ by producer — but said it anyway: sources https://t.co/d9x1iKq1c2 pic.twitter.com/AvfRFfJmGZ
— New York Post (@nypost) December 19, 2024
Gilded Reframe – THE NEW YORK TIMES
This is progress…nine years in the making.
One of the lingering problems with the press in the Trump Era has been the mold-like growth that is the Never Trumpers. The list of names is lengthy, if inconsequential, and their messaging has never wavered. If anything, they have broadened their supposed “true conservative” bona fides by opposing just about any Republican.
As we have said previously: The revealing aspect is how NONE of these vaunted thinkers have ever promoted conservative candidates to battle back Trump and other supposed MAGA supporters.
Well, after all of this time, and especially in the face of a Trump mandate victory, the token NT columnist at The New York Times, Bret Stephens, has come forward to declare he is stepping away from that militant contrarian stance:
Could his second term be as bad as his most fervent critics fear? Yes. Is it time to drop the heavy moralizing and incessant doomsaying that typified so much of the Never Trump movement — and that rendered it politically impotent and frequently obtuse? Yes, please.
Well, I suppose you can say this shows growth, after nearly a decade of this position... pic.twitter.com/A9ISB1jiqt
— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) December 19, 2024
Low-Octane Gaslighting – MSNBC
Funny, we recall that anytime the Democrats are in power it is said to be permission to rule as they please commissioned from on high.
Oh dear, did we happen to say Trump has a mandate? We have to bring you a brief update: Joe Scarborough is still struggling with the election results. Scar-Joe is attempting to sweep away the claims that Trump has a mandate as he steps back into the Oval Office. Joe’s proof? Look at Wisconsin!
So all these Republicans are running around acting like they had a mandate. They won by one percentage point. They won Wisconsin by less than one percentage point. Everybody needs to take a deep breath. Everybody needs to take a deep breath. Because people are going, oh, this is the age of Elon. Oh, this is the age of the bro culture. Oh, America has darted so for right.
Reminder to Scar-Joe: Trump was supposed to lose Wisconsin. He also flipped a number of others Biden won in 2020, saw increases in support from minority groups, boosted his voting in 49 states, and has for this term a GOP House and Senate as well.
But sure, Joe, no mandate…
Scarborough Desperately Clings To Wisconsin to Downplay Trump Winhttps://t.co/7oShH0nU4g@JoeNBC @Morning_Joe #Election2024 @realDonaldTrump #DonaldTrump #Wisconsin
— Mark Finkelstein (@markfinkelstein) December 18, 2024
