Biden has faced criticism over his age and fitness for office throughout his presidency. No public evidence exists that he is unable to carry out the duties of his job.
The Wall Street Journal reported concerns from Democrats and Republicans about Biden's memory, mumbling, reliance on note cards, extended periods of silence during meetings.
White House officials and allies defended President Biden against reports questioning his mental acuity and performance in private meetings.
White House officials and President Biden's allies went on the defensive against reports questioning the president's mental acuity and performance in private meetings. The Wall Street Journal published a report titled 'Behind Closed Doors, Biden Shows Signs of Slipping,' which outlined concerns from both Democrats and Republicans about the president's memory, mumbling, reliance on note cards, and extended periods of silence during meetings. The White House urged interviewees for the article to call back and push back on what they deemed as false narratives. The Journal reported that it took ten minutes or more for a meeting with Biden to start and that when it did begin, he didn't always know what he was negotiating.
The president has faced criticism over his age and fitness for office throughout his presidency, but there is currently no public evidence that he is unable to carry out the duties of his job. The White House has previously dismissed such concerns with a robust public performance, most notably at the State of the Union address in March.
Forty-five sources, including Republicans and Democrats, have shared concerns about President Biden’s mental acuity with The Wall Street Journal.
Biden’s memory is reportedly slipping.
Biden mumbles so much that people have trouble hearing him clearly.
Biden relies on note cards to make obvious points during meetings.
It takes ten minutes or more for a meeting with Biden to start.
When a meeting does begin, Biden reportedly doesn’t know what he is negotiating.
Accuracy
The president mumbles so much that people have trouble hearing him clearly.
Deception
(0%)
The article makes numerous editorializing statements and uses sensational language to manipulate the reader's emotions. The author also selectively reports details that support their position about President Biden's mental acuity without providing any context or counter-evidence.
You couldn’t be there and not feel uncomfortable, is what one insider told the Journal.
Biden is the one having trouble keeping up and behind the scenes, it’s even worse than it looks.
, people who spent hours and hours inside, behind closed doors with the president, say he’s not the same person. His memory is slipping.
The president moved so slowly around his Cabinet room that sometimes it’d take 10 minutes just for a meeting to start.
Fallacies
(80%)
The article contains several instances of appeals to authority fallacy as it relies heavily on anonymous sources and their opinions about President Biden's mental acuity. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric by describing the president's behavior as 'slipping,' 'mumbling,' and 'not the same person.' However, no explicit logical fallacies were identified in the article.
][Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy] told the Journal he kept going back to old stuff and would be shocked when he’d be told: No, Mr. President, we talked about that meetings ago, we’re done with that.[/
You couldn’t be there and not feel uncomfortable, is what one insider told the Journal.
Bias
(80%)
The article makes multiple assertions about President Biden's mental acuity and memory slips without providing any evidence or quotes from the sources to support these claims. The author also uses language like 'bombshell report' and 'behind closed doors' to create a sensational narrative.
He mumbles so much that people sitting right next to him have trouble hearing him.
His memory is slipping.
You couldn’t be there and not feel uncomfortable, is what one insider told the Journal.
The White House urged Democrats interviewed by the Wall Street Journal for a report about President Biden’s mental acuity to call the newspaper back and push back on false narratives.
Accuracy
The White House urged Democrats to call back the Wall Street Journal as it reported on President Biden’s mental acuity.
Forty-five sources, including Republicans and Democrats, have shared concerns about President Biden’s mental acuity with The Wall Street Journal.
Biden's memory is reportedly slipping.
The president mumbles so much that people have trouble hearing him clearly.
Deception
(30%)
The article contains selective reporting as it only reports instances where Democrats defend Biden's mental acuity and ignores any criticisms or concerns raised by Republicans or others. The author also uses emotional manipulation by implying that the White House's efforts to push back on negative narratives is a sign of deception, rather than a normal response to media scrutiny.
The White House urged Democrats interviewed by the Wall Street Journal for a report about President Biden’s mental acuity to call the newspaper back and push back on ‘false’ narratives
The White House reportedly urged Democrats to call back The Wall Street Journal to tout President Biden’s sharpness
Fallacies
(85%)
The author makes an appeal to authority by quoting several Democratic lawmakers and officials defending President Biden's mental acuity. This does not constitute a fallacy on its own, but it is important to note that the author is presenting these quotes as evidence against the claims made in the Wall Street Journal article. However, there are also instances where the author uses inflammatory rhetoric by describing some of Biden's actions as 'gaffes' and 'low energy.' This language is not objective and could be seen as biased.
]The White House urged Democrats interviewed by the Wall Street Journal for a report about President Biden’s mental acuity to call the newspaper back and push back on ‘false’ narratives[.
']They just, you know, said that I should give you a call back[.',
Bias
(95%)
The author reports on the White House urging Democrats to call back The Wall Street Journal to push back on 'false and politically motivated claims' about President Biden's mental acuity. This is an example of monetary bias as the White House is attempting to influence the narrative by having Democrats speak out against negative reporting.
The White House urged Democrats interviewed by the Wall Street Journal for a report about President Biden’s mental acuity to call the newspaper back and push back on ‘false and politically motivated claims.’
White House spokesman Andrew Bates told the Journal, ‘We thought it was important that all perspectives be represented’ to push back on what he alleged were ‘false and politically motivated claims.’
The White House was forced into a damage control effort to defend President Joe Biden’s acuity as he embarked on a grueling foreign trip and as the race gets nastier by the day.
A Wall Street Journal article cited descriptions, disputed by the White House, of President Biden’s state of mind and fitness from more than 45 interviews with both Democrats and Republicans.
Biden has managed to tamp down previous kerfuffles over his age and capabilities this year with a robust public performance at his State of the Union address in March.
There is no current public evidence that Biden is unable to carry out the most onerous duties of his job.
Accuracy
Biden mumbles so much that people have trouble hearing him clearly.
It takes ten minutes or more for a meeting with Biden to start.
When a meeting does begin, Biden reportedly doesn't know what he is negotiating.
Deception
(30%)
The article contains several examples of selective reporting and emotional manipulation. The author focuses on the negative descriptions of Biden's state of mind and fitness from Republican sources while omitting any counterbalancing information or Democratic responses. This creates a biased narrative that implies Biden is unfit for office without providing sufficient evidence to support this claim. Additionally, the author uses emotive language such as 'recurring threat,' 'damage control effort,' and 'frenzy' to manipulate the reader's emotions and create a sense of urgency around the issue of Biden's age.
But all it takes is one halting on-camera moment or media report to revive the frenzy over Biden’s age.
Democrats accused Republicans quoted or referred to in the account of making false claims and contradicting previous statements to damage Biden politically.
The latest episode was sparked by a Wall Street Journal article that cited descriptions of the president’s state of mind and fitness from both Democrats and Republicans.
Fallacies
(80%)
The article contains several instances of appeals to authority and dichotomous depictions. The author cites multiple sources, some of whom are quoted making claims about President Biden's mental acuity and fitness for office. These sources include both Democrats and Republicans, which creates a dichotomy between the two parties' perspectives on the issue. Additionally, the author makes several references to previous reports or incidents that have raised concerns about Biden's age and capabilities, further emphasizing this dichotomy. However, no explicit fallacies are identified in direct quotes from the author.
]Congressional Republicans, foreign leaders and nonpartisan national-security experts have made clear in their own words that President Biden is a savvy and effective leader who has a deep record of legislative accomplishment.[/]
Bias
(5%)
The author uses language that depicts the Republican concerns about Biden's age and fitness for office as a 'Beltway drama' that is not occupying the minds of most voters. However, he also acknowledges that these concerns are legitimate and mentions polls showing a large percentage of Americans believe Biden is too old to serve another term. The author also quotes Republicans expressing their concerns about Biden's performance in meetings and his memory slipping, but dismisses some of these criticisms as coming from 'disinterested observers' with 'vested political interests'. While the author does not directly quote the president making biased statements or using language that demeans one side as extreme or unreasonable, he does use language that implies a negative view of Republicans and their motivations for raising concerns about Biden's age.
]Congressional Republicans, foreign leaders and nonpartisan national-security experts have made clear in their own words that President Biden is a savvy and effective leader who has a deep record of legislative accomplishment.[/]
Now, in 2024, House Republicans are making false claims as a political tactic that flatly contradict previous statements made by themselves and their colleagues.
White House officials and President Biden's allies attacked The Wall Street Journal after it published a report on the president’s performance in private meetings headlined ‘Behind Closed Doors, Biden Shows Signs of Slipping.’
Democrats rallied to Biden’s defense and criticized key parts of the story, accusing the Journal of largely citing accounts from Republican officials who had spent time with the president.
Accuracy
The number of sources interviewed for the article in The Hill and The Wall Street Journal differ.
The descriptions of Biden's behavior during meetings vary in detail.
Deception
(30%)
The article contains selective reporting as it focuses on quotes from Republican officials and their criticisms of President Biden's performance in private meetings. The author does not provide any counterbalancing quotes or perspectives from Democratic officials or Biden himself. This creates a biased and one-sided representation of the situation.
The Journal story was based on interviews with 45 people over several months, including Democrats and Republicans who were in meetings with Biden or briefed on them. Most of those who said Biden performed poorly were Republicans, but some Democrats said that he showed his age in several of the exchanges.
Democrats rallied to Biden’s defense and took issue with key parts of the story, blasting The Journal for largely citing the accounts of Republican officials who had spent time with the president, including former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Fallacies
(80%)
The author uses an appeal to authority fallacy by quoting Democrats and Biden allies defending Biden's performance in private meetings against criticisms made by Republicans. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric when describing the Journal story as a 'hit piece' without providing evidence for this claim.
“I’ve spent time with both of those guys privately. Spent time with Biden and Trump privately. I’ve spent time with every House Speaker over the past 30 years. And Joe Biden, I’m not just — it’s just not close,” host Joe Scarborough said.
“What a surprise – Republicans employing their election year messaging strategy that contradicts their own prior words about @POTUS,” White House communications director Ben LaBolt posted on X.
Bias
(80%)
The author Brett Samuels presents a clear bias towards the Biden administration in this article. He reports on how White House officials and Biden's allies went on the attack against The Wall Street Journal for publishing a report that portrayed President Biden's performance in private meetings negatively. The author quotes several Democratic politicians, including Joe Scarborough, Patty Murray, and Julie Chavez Rodriguez, who defend Biden and criticize the Journal for largely citing Republican sources. This creates an imbalance in the article as it only presents one perspective while dismissing the other.
As someone who has spent and continues to spend a lot of time with the president and continues to, I think ensure that I am living up to sort of his strategic approach at every turn, I will say that he is, you know, just one of the strongest leaders that I’ve been able to engage and to be able to work with and to advise.
Several White House aides shared a lengthy segment from MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ in which the hosts excoriated the Journal story as a hit piece.
What a surprise – Republicans employing their election year messaging strategy that contradicts their own prior words about @POTUS.
White House officials and President Biden’s allies went on the attack against The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday after the news outlet published a report
