Joe Biden has serious questions to answer, and his milkshake flavor choice is not one of them.
The NY Post published a bombshell story about Hunter Biden’s emails, resulting in massive censorship efforts from Twitter, which will likely come to be seen as a turning point. Twitter pursued blocking the article’s link from being shared, even through the direct message feature, supposed private communication, placing America in the ranks of China. It also resulted in Joe Biden’s true political nature stepping back into the light when scarcely probed to answer the tough questions from the media. This presidential candidate gave a very honest demonstration of his way to dodge these hot-button topics, even going after CBS reporter Bo Erickson, who dared to ask him about the news of the day.
CBS’s Bo Erickson: “I asked Joe Biden: ‘What is your response to the NY Post story about your son, sir?’ He called it a ‘smear campaign’ and then went after me. ‘I know you’d ask it. I have no response, it’s another smear campaign, right up your alley, those are the questions you always ask.’
After this, the press got the idea. Biden signaled strongly that he will not be answering any newsworthy questions, and he will not treat those who ask kindly. And so, we saw the milkshake question.
On October 18, the press pool report noted of the Democratic presidential nominee:
“Biden deplaned at 7:09 back in Wilmington. He again acknowledged the press standing there, but walked to his car and ignored questions about potential election interference, the FBI, and other topics, as he did in other attempts to get him speaking at various points through the day. The only question he answered was the one about his milkshake choice.”
After this, most of the press, except for NY Post, Fox, Newsmax, and Breitbart, remained complacent. Rome kept on burning while Biden flew off the radar, closing the lid on all in-person appearances in his last pitch to avoid the press before election day. How’s that for transparency?
There are newsrooms and top editors explicitly stating they do not want the Burisma emails investigated or this story reported — not because they believe the emails are fakes (nobody believes that) but because they think it’s wrong to report this on Biden given how bad Trump is.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 21, 2020
Joe Biden’s behavior is part of a well-known pattern in his dealings with any story that scrutinizes the former Vice President. When Tara Read brought forward her accusations against Biden, he refused to address them for a lengthy period of time. The legacy media either ignored Read or made attempts to tie her to “Russian disinformation,” an exhausted tactic used to discredit any news that could negatively affect the present presidential candidate’s public standing.
It is really interesting —I said the other day— that whenever something comes up, they blame it on Russian disinformation, while no one disputes the validity of the content. To this very moment, all Joe Biden has said is that “it’s a smear campaign,” without disputing the accuracy of the information itself.
It’s really interesting that whenever something comes out, they say it’s the Russians, while in this case it’s Hunter’s laptop and no one is disputing the validity of the content published. The main story here is the content, all other stuff is the diversion from Hunter’s doings. https://t.co/zEcQe0HQNu
— Ksenija Pavlovic McAteer (@ksenijapavlovic) October 17, 2020
DNI director Ratcliffe firmly stated the notion that the NY Post’s article was influenced by a Russian disinformation campaign is false and that what’s really puzzling: Schiff’s claim to know better than the Director of National Intelligence himself, a person who is supposed to be the best and most informed person in the country.
Ksenija Pavlovic Mcateer: Aiming at the messenger and its motivation does not change the newsworthiness of the content on public display, and, if this was a Russian operation, one would expect the inflicted to deny the contents of the story and launch an investigation into the disinformation campaign itself.
It only took a Steele Dossier to trigger the investigation against the Trump campaign, despite the lack of corroborating evidence from a former MI5 agent’s report. Emails about the meeting at the Trump tower were enough to proclaim Don Jr guilty in a public forum and for reporters to ask any and all hard questions, as they were supposed to. Why should Hunter Biden’s story be any different?
Joe Biden does not have to do anything, as the media will do everything for him, just as they have done and continue to do. Whatever justification lives in their minds, it may very well backfire in the case that Joe Biden does become the president. It is becoming clear what the former VP’s style is when handling the media.
Joe Biden is the least scrutinized presidential candidate. Those who are pecking Trump to death are willing to give Biden a free pass, but will the American voters be that willing?
Ksenija Pavlovic Mcateer: Joe Biden has serious questions to answer, and, by serious, I do not mean, “What’s your favorite milkshake flavor?” That’s for the lifestyle section– not the political beat in the midst of a historic election, while the country is ravaged by countless social, economic, and public health issues.
Joe Biden is an old-world politician, the likes of Nancy Pelosi, another detached politician who, in the middle of the pandemic, opened her freezer to put her ice cream collection on display. In the same manner, Joe Biden is going for a milkshake without a care in the world while the story on Hunter Biden and his overseas business dealings is snowballing. More news organizations like Fox and Newsmax are publishing newly found materials from, as Trump calls it, the “laptop from hell.”
The most telling indicator that the content is credible is the fact that Joe Biden did not come out and say that Hunter’s emails are ‘fake news.’ While this may be a “smear campaign,” it can also be true. The two are not mutually exclusive. Biden has a responsibility to take and answer tough questions addressing the issues initially raised by the NY Post article.
Some think that Joe Biden cannot possibly avoid addressing the topic forever, but you would be surprised. If there is no one to hold him accountable — if there are no journalists who are going to question him — then we will see this fade into the background, and Biden will escape without having to say a word.