For a couple of minutes this month, it almost seemed as if the mainstream media was finally succumbing to reality and admitting that Joe Biden is simply not up to the job of being president amid catastrophic poll numbers and disastrous situations facing Americans at home. Multiple legacy media outlets, both in print and on cable news were picking up on a recent Wall Street Journal article that generously described Biden as "slipping."
Even some prominent Democratic strategists were showing up on CNN, wringing their hands and bemoaning the fact that Donald Trump has broadly overtaken Biden in the betting market for November.
But Biden's current trip to France to celebrate the 80th anniversary of D-Day presented an opportunity to reset the narrative and paint Joe Biden as some sort of historic, Reaganesque figure. Somewhat predictably, the Associated Press jumped on the opportunity like a swarm of flies drawn to honey. The result was rather embarrassing to anyone who has been watching the actual coverage of Joe's trip.
Here's a sample from the opening:
President Joe Biden will close out his trip to France by paying his respects at an American military cemetery that Donald Trump notably skipped visiting when he was president, hoping his final stop Sunday will draw the stakes of the November election in stark relief.It’s a fitting end to five days in which Trump was an unspoken yet unavoidable presence. On the surface, the trip marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day and celebrated the alliance between the United States and France. But during an election year when Trump has called into question fundamental understandings about America’s global role, Biden has embraced his Republican predecessor — and would-be successor — as a latent foil.Every ode to the transatlantic partnership was a reminder that Trump could upend those relationships. Each reference to democracy stood a counterpoint to his rival’s efforts to overturn a presidential election. The myriad exhortations to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia created a contrast with Trump’s skepticism about providing U.S. assistance.
You are free to click through and read the rest if you have the stomach for it. The AP tosses one bombastic verbal grenade after another at Trump, while painting Joe Biden as a unifying force for democracy who knows how to honor veterans and our fallen military heroes. They take pains to describe how Biden "celebrated the alliance between the United States and France." They then claim without any evidence whatsoever that Trump has "called into question fundamental understandings about America’s global role."
This desperate fluff piece could truly be described as a load of malarky befitting the addled Commander in Chief that it's being heaped upon. Rather than emulating Reagan's historic performance on the 40th anniversary (which Karen included in her recent review if you'd like to watch it again), Biden mumbled in a voice so low that reporters had to strain to hear it, stumbling over words and taking long, uncomfortable pauses as he usually does unless he's jacked up on caffeine. At times he once again couldn't figure out where or even how to sit down or exit the stage. While he managed to avoid overtly insulting any of our allies this time, he hardly cut a figure of someone who stands ready to lead our allies in a battle against communist oppression.
The AP also repeatedly makes a point of noting that Trump didn't visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery during his trip to France in 2018 while seemingly questioning why he wasn't there this week. Barely mentioned is the fact that the weather was miserable on the day the trip was planned for Trump and there was no massive celebration scheduled because it was an off-year and not an historic number like the 80th anniversary. Also, Trump is not currently the President and was under no obligation to attend those events. Quite the contrary, his presence would have been a distraction from the dignified meaning of the anniversary.
Trump is loved by the military and he easily carries a significant majority of the military and veteran votes. He was also always very respectful of our departed warriors and wounded veterans. Compare that to the currently lauded Joe Biden who was caught on camera checking his watch during the dignified transfer of the remains of our warriors who were lost during Biden's bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan. This entire "celebration" of Biden is ridiculous. He turned his trip to Normandy into a series of campaign speeches rather than putting his own needs aside and paying homage to the sacrifices of the greatest generation. I'm shocked he didn't include a plea to send money to his campaign. He did the same thing when he gave a speech at West Point. It was never about our military. It was all about him and an opportunity to bash Donald Trump, whether he mentioned him by name or not. If Joe Biden truly cared about this country he would have dropped out of the race and left the job to someone more capable or at least mentally stable. But this is all about him, not you or me. And the Associated Press should be ashamed of this display of fictional, biased hero worship.
