The media is blaming Biden for the fact that they overlook good economic news and obsessively focus on anything bad.
Here is a classic example of the media not understanding why the American people don’t know about Biden’s accomplishments:
Ahead of tonight’s State of the Union, WH Comms Director Kate Bedingfield touts the admin’s historic job creation and low unemployment, higher wages, infrastructure investment and more.
Don Lemon: “Why aren’t the American people feeling it? Because the polls are showing …” pic.twitter.com/RXzd7iZkl6
— The Recount (@therecount) February 7, 2023
Transcript via CNN This Morning:
LEMON: Let’s talk about what is going to happen and people’s perceptions. Because there is this new Washington Post/ABC News poll, it finds that about two-thirds of Americans feel that President Biden has not accomplished a whole lot in his first two years in office. Listen, perception is reality, especially when it comes to public office. So, why aren’t the American people feeling or seeing what the president plans, what the president is doing, and does he plan to talk about that tonight?
BEDINGFIELD: Well, absolutely, he is going to talk about that tonight. You’re going to hear from him tonight about the things we’ve accomplished in the first two years that are making a difference in people’s lives, 12 million jobs created during President Biden’s first two years in office, historic low unemployment, wages going up, investments in our infrastructure, our roads and bridges, historic gun safety legislation.
So, yes, the American people are going to hear directly from the president tonight about what we’ve accomplished in the first two years but also about the path forward, about how we’re going to keep building on that progress, how we’re going to finish the job. People across the country, remember — go ahead.
LEMON: But, Kate, why aren’t the American people feeling it? Because the polls are showing that the American people are not feeling that. Is that the issue with the president? Is that the communications office? What is going on?
BEDINGFIELD: Well, remember where we were when President Biden came into office. We were in the depths of a pandemic, the economy had ground to a halt, inflation was creeping up not just here but around the globe as a result of the pandemic. And so the president took quick action, meaningful action to start rebuilding this economy from the bottom up and the middle out. And the choices that he’s made have, again, led to historic job creation, historic low unemployment, and people are starting to feel that around the country.
But as the president would be the first to say and will say tonight, we’re going to keep talking about what those impacts mean. Over the course of 2023 and into 2024, people are going to start to feel the impact of some of the major legislation that we’ve passed, the infrastructure law, the Inflation Reduction Act that’s lowering prescription drug costs and lowering energy costs for people. People are going to start to feel the impact of that. So, you’re going to hear from the president tonight and then you’re also going to hear from the president, the vice president, the cabinet, as they are traveling after the speech, fanning out across the country to talk about how we’re going to finish the job.
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All Presidents Since The Development Of Mass Media Complain About Their Coverage, But This Is Different
An administration believing that their good news has a hard time getting coverage is nothing new. Every president has thought that the good things that they are doing did not get enough attention.
However, the Biden administration has a legitimate complaint.
The corporate media loves negative stories. There were weeks and months of non-stop coverage about inflation and gas prices in the United States. When gas prices dropped the mainstream media suddenly lost interest in the story. When inflation was on the rise, cable news coverage beat the drum about how Americans were suffering non-stop. Inflation has been declining for months, and now the media doesn’t talk about it.
Biden talks about his achievements and accomplishments daily, but cable news rarely covers his remarks.
The media preference for ignoring good news and playing up the bad is why Americans don’t ‘feel’ the economic improvement.
If the press wants to know why Biden’s and every other president’s message struggles to get through, they need to look in the mirror.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
