The Biden White House and 2024 campaign team’s frustration at the media is boiling over for covering President Joe Biden’s age, amid polls that show the American public is concerned that he is too old, according to a report.
The Hill reported Sunday that White House spokesperson, Ian Sams, sent a letter to the White House Correspondents’ Association criticizing media outlets for their reporting on a recent special counsel report that described Biden as elderly with a failing memory, as well as on his age and fitness for office in general.
“Your jobs are not easy. But they are important,” Sams wrote, adding, “When significant errors occur in coverage, such as essentially misstating the findings and conclusions of a federal investigation of the sitting President, it is critical that they be addressed.”
Biden's old age is becoming a bigger issue every day. https://t.co/qPZ3fhBGPc
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) January 13, 2024
The association’s president, Kelly O’Donnell, who is also a correspondent at NBC News, called sending the letter through internal channels “inappropriate,” and the letter “misdirected.”
Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report said Biden would not face any charges for “willfully” retaining classified documents as vice president and senator, but noted the president’s ability to recall basic facts such as when his son died or when he served as vice president.
Biden addressed the media shortly after the release of that report in a press conference where he said his memory was fine but then called the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi the “president of Mexico.”
According to The Hill, Biden’s personal attorney also recently wrote an op-ed criticizing media coverage of the special counsel report, and the New York Time’s publisher said in a recent interview that the White House is “extremely upset” about the reporting on Biden’s age.
"That is your judgment!" Biden snapped after being pressed by the media about concerns regarding his age and memory during a press conference held by the White House. pic.twitter.com/X2AIu3QeEy
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) February 10, 2024
While White House is putting pressure on the media, the Biden campaign is also lashing out as well.
TJ Ducklo, a senior adviser to the Biden campaign slammed the media in a February 12 statement for “gratuitous and sensationalist attacks on the President’s age.’
The campaign also sent out a press release slamming the Times for a piece fact-checking Biden’s claims about the economy.
A former Biden spokesperson also lashed out at the Times for calling Biden “beleaguered.”
“Beleaguered Biden wins second term, luckily saved by greatest job market in history and the happenstance of the strongest economic legislative record in 70 years, which by the way was in no way related to that job market. But how long can the lucky streak last?” Jesse Lee wrote on X.
Beleaguered Biden wins second term, luckily saved by greatest job market in history and the happenstance of the strongest economic legislative record in 70 years, which by the way was in no way related to that job market. But how long can the lucky streak last? https://t.co/5Ko7wiOJWq
— Jesse Lee (@JesseCharlesLee) February 22, 2024
Lee also suggested that the media begin stories about Trump’s legal battles by writing, “With voters deeply concerned about Trump’s corruption…”
Imagine how different the discourse would sound if every story about Trump’s legal developments began “With voters deeply concerned about Trump’s corruption…” https://t.co/byExAsnYYq pic.twitter.com/o0AbrZMgdX
— Jesse Lee (@JesseCharlesLee) February 21, 2024
Meanwhile, polls have shown that the overwhelming majority of voters are concerned about Biden’s age.
A recent Quinnipiac University poll showed that 67 percent of those surveyed think Biden is too old to effectively serve another four-year term.
Follow Breitbart News’s Kristina Wong on ”X”, Truth Social, or on Facebook.