chatham harrison is tending a new garden: I more or less agree with this. Biden can stop the press from sinking him, but his best bet to resolve this freakout as quickly & unpainfully as possible means giving them at least some of what they want.

I more or less agree with this. Biden can stop the press from sinking him, but his best bet to resolve this freakout as quickly & unpainfully as possible means giving them at least some of what they want.

This thread from Matthew Chapman at the Bad Place is a good analysis of why the DC press corps are turning on Biden. x.com/fawfulfan/st...

I'm not sure what they want is the same thing they claim to want. White House coverage has been getting more like TMZ for years. They don't just want honest access, they want "scandals" that boost their careers & make them feel important.

Everybody learned the wrong lessons from Watergate.

bsky.app/profile/soma...

Bernstein's sources appear to be donors, not White House staff. He & Woodward have had one hell of a heel turn in the last half decade.

Yup. The culture changed so radically between then and now that this is entirely unremarkable. Not just selling out but revealing that the game was more important than the prize on pretty much every level.

They also really resent Biden; he's from "the people" as much as any recent President has been and that is still where his loyalties lie.

It's unfortunate, but even a 'see? they prefer the other guy' approach probably requires throwing them a bone just to show that it doesn't work.

Agree w jist of this but also Chapman can be kinda dumb

I agree completely. He drove me crazy. But I think he's probably right on this one. I think Biden can weather this without catering to the worst of the press. But he's probably well-served in giving the ones he's most willing to work with the most access he can.

Yeah, he's not someone I follow, but his point about the WH press corps asking dumber questions during Trump hit home with something I've been thinking for a while. They think their job is to be TMZ for politics.

Mario Lopez without the journalistic integrity

Post