Not Kidding: NYT Praises Joe Biden for Not Putting His Foot in His Mouth
You know it’s campaign season when New York Times headlines start looking like The Onion.
The famous newspaper veered into parody territory on Sunday by going so soft on former Vice President Joe Biden that it’s hard not to chuckle. Talk about setting a low bar: The Times apparently believes it’s newsworthy that Biden didn’t fall on his face as his campaign gets into gear.
“‘There He Goes Again’? Not Yet, as Biden Avoids Major Gaffes,” an article published by the paper declared over the weekend. Yes, even The New York Times seemed surprised that Biden hasn’t gone off the rails as he sets his sights on the White House.
“Just over two weeks into Mr. Biden’s candidacy, the most notable feature of his campaign may be what hasn’t happened: He has not blurted out anything that delights his rivals, horrifies his aides and reinforces his image as ‘Uncle Joe,'” The Times journalist Jonathan Martin wrote.
Two weeks without horrifying his own people? A rousing success!
You can probably imagine similar satire headlines from your favorite humor website: “Biden Kept on Leash for Entire Event, Only Bites Two Children.” Somebody get that man a ticket to Washington.
But it gets better. The real-life article in The Times then went on to admit that it’s only a matter of time before the 2020 hopeful makes a complete fool of himself.
“It is early yet — which even Mr. Biden’s friends allow as they hold their breath — and precedent offers good reason to question whether his streak of mostly error-free days can last,” the newspaper said.
His staff’s plan to get Biden elected? Just make sure he doesn’t tell voters what’s really on his mind.
“[Biden’s] staff has sought to mitigate the risk by effectively recreating the trappings of the vice presidency: guarding question-and-answer sessions, selecting safe interview settings and remaining all but glued to his hip when he greets voters on rope lines, dips into ice cream shops and steps out of the black Chevy Suburbans that are indistinguishable from the Secret Service models he once rode in,” the newspaper continued.
In other words, controlling him like a loose cannon. Not that we can blame them: After all, Biden has gotten himself into trouble with his mouth before — possibly with his hands.
He has already been accused of sexually harassing a former staff member, and there are numerous photos and videos that show Biden making women and girls uncomfortable. As if he weren’t tone-deaf enough, the former vice president also tried to turn his past behavior into the butt of jokes.
“By the way, he gave me permission to touch him,” Biden joked in cringe-worthy fashion about a young boy last month. One of his accusers didn’t find it funny.
“To make light of something as serious as consent degrades the conversation women everywhere are courageously trying to have,” Lucy Flores, a Democrat who says Biden acted inappropriately with her, responded.
No wonder the Democrat front-runner is being so closely guarded by his handlers. That alone should speak volumes about the shallow pool of candidates from the left in 2020, but there’s another angle here should also be pointed out: There’s no getting around the fact that establishment media outlets such as The New York Times are using kid gloves — don’t get excited, Joe — when it comes to their coverage of Democrat candidates.
It’s hard to imagine a GOP candidate being handled so mildly, especially while facing serious accusations and repeatedly putting a foot in his or her mouth. Yet all it takes for Biden to receive positive spin from The Times is to have a pulse and recite his lines, it seems. Welcome to 2019.
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