In response to growing negative coverage of Joe Biden’s job performance, the White House has allegedly been holding meetings with reporters from various media outlets for the goal of “reshaping” press coverage of the administration, as reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
The reports first came from CNN, which said, in part, that “the White House, not happy with the news media’s coverage of the supply chain and economy, has been working behind the scenes trying to reshape coverage in its favor.” This included meetings between reporters and several White House officials, including NEC Deputy Directors David Kamin and Bharat Ramamurti, as well as Ports Envoy John Porcari, to discuss “trends pertaining to job creation, economic growth, supply chains, and more.”
These officials have told reporters, falsely, “that the country’s economy is in much better shape than it was last year.” CNN further reports that the conversations have been productive.”
The efforts to turn around media coverage of Biden started with an op-ed piece in the Washington Post by Dana Milbank, whose headline declared that “the media treats Biden just as badly – or worse than – Trump,” and proceeded to cite mere anecdotal evidence that included a handful of headlines that were critical of the Biden Administration. The column was widely mocked on social media, as it is a well-known fact that media coverage of President Donald Trump was more universally negative than it was for Biden, and that this skewed coverage most likely played a role in the 2020 election results.
Among the issues most plaguing Biden is the state of the economy, which is suffering from multiple crises including a spike in inflation and an ongoing supply chain crisis that has led to a shortage of goods and supplies. Gas prices have also risen to record highs across the nation, and the price of various foods spiked in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, negatively impacting many Americans’ holiday plans.
Other issues on which Biden has performed poorly include the immigration crisis on the southern border, which has seen a historic spike since he took office, leading to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens pouring over the border and subsequently creating a public health and national security crisis for the country. He also faced universal criticism for his handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, during which the Taliban seized control of the country even before American forces fully evacuated, and hundreds of American citizens were left stranded behind enemy lines after the last military elements pulled out.All of these issues, among others, have led to a significant decline in Biden’s approval ratings. After the initial “honeymoon period” of press coverage following his inauguration, his numbers began steadily falling after the Afghanistan debacle, and have continued to drop amidst the supply chain and immigration crises. A Quinnipiac University poll in mid-November recorded Biden’s approval rating at just 36 percent, while disapproval of his performance reached 53 percent.