The White House, stung by President Joe Biden’s low approval ratings, is blaming the press for some of its woes, The Hill is reporting.
Biden’s ratings have sparked fears among Democrats over the president’s weakened clout ahead of next year’s midterms, the outlet noted.
More than 60 liberal groups on Thursday urged the media for more balanced coverage of Biden.
"Please consider and swiftly address your role in promoting this widespread, destructive pattern of reporting," the groups said in a letter to the media. "Not only is it doing harm to our democracy, but it is also harming your reputation as journalists and that of the news outlets you represent."
Numerous administration officials have shared an opinion piece by Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank, who wrote last week that the media treats Biden as badly as — or worse than — Donald Trump when he was in the White House.
At Milbank’s request, a data analytics unit of the information company FiscalNote, went through more than 200,000 articles from 65 news outlets.
"After a honeymoon of slightly positive coverage in the first three months of the year, Biden’s press for the past four months has been as bad as — and for a time worse than — the coverage Trump received for the same four months of 2020," Milbank wrote.
Biden administration officials have been critical about a Politico report that detailed Vice President Kamala Harris’ preference for traditional wired headphones instead of bluetooth devices.
"The intrepid, substantive reporting on @VP continues," White House deputy press secretary Chris Meagher tweeted.
Meanwhile, the White House is trying to reshape coverage of the economy in its favor, CNN reported.
The news network said administration officials have been unhappy with the media’s focus on the supply chain problems and the economy.
As a result, the White House has sent out senior administration officials, including National Economic Council deputy directors David Kamin and Bharat Ramamurti, to brief newsrooms. CNN attributed the information to an unnamed source.
The Hill noted that Biden, in an effort to focus attention to his agenda, delivered remarks last week concerning the November jobs numbers. The White House has pointed to the numbers as evidence of an ongoing economic recovery from the pandemic.
But Biden’s remarks were overshadowed by his hoarse voice, which he attributed to a cold, The Hill said.
"From the president coughing or what air-buds the vice president uses, there has been this barrage of frankly, unimportant high-school tabloid-style garbage," said Kurt Bardella, an adviser for multiple Democrat committees.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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