On Thursday morning and after some cockamamie, tone-deaf reactions Wednesday night to President Biden’s farewell address, the major broadcast networks chose to double down with empty stenography for power with one network going to nonsensical links suggesting Biden could one day be compared to President George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson as one of the country’s greatest presidents.
CBS Mornings Plus was the offending news show on the historical front. After some stenography recapping his speech lecturing about the “oligarchy” stealing the country, senior White House and campaign correspondent Ed O’Keefe was brought in to weigh in on the Biden presidency.
Later citing the effects of the bipartisan infrastructure law, he acknowledged Biden “touched on many of” his accomplishments, “but...what he was also signaling is something that previous unpopular...presidents have said on their way out, which is...you’re going to miss me when I’m gone or history is going to be kinder to me” with George W. Bush being another example.
Co-host Adriana Diaz brought up one poll that pegged his final approval rating at a paltry 39 percent and asked O’Keefe to place that in context of other presidents.
O’Keefe played both sides. First, he admitted “[i]t’s down near Jimmy Carter numbers — right — and it’s — and it’s less than Barack Obama” yet “similar to Donald Trump” before forwarding the White House’s spin for the Democratic losses in November that voters were caught up in “the anti-incumbent mood that the world — the world — really has right now toward its leaders in the face of economic downturn and economic revolution and the technological revolution.”
He did this dance again when acknowledging Biden was elected “in response to four years of Trump,” but he “wasn’t necessarily adapting as quickly to the times” and the President (and Democrats) misread the red ripple in 2022 as a stamp of approval for him to seek a second term.
But, to throw Biden a bone, O’Keefe claimed Biden “seemed to acknowledge that last night that, you know, things are changing, misinformation, disinformation is changing people’s perceptions of things and we’re not catching onto that and controlling it fast enough.”
“Controlling it fast enough?” There’s a word for that: censorship.
O’Keefe then dropped the historical comparison after being asked by Diaz to share how Biden’s claim he would have defeated Trump had he stayed in the race (which O’Keefe said went over poorly with Democrats and Vice President Harris):
CBS’s Ed O’Keefe wonders if Biden will be compared in the history books “alongside Franklin Roosevelt and LBJ and George Washington in terms of great presidents who did big things or does he end up in the conversation with Woodrow Wilson and James Garfield and John Kennedy of, if… pic.twitter.com/GNmmI5S44P
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 16, 2025
Dokoupil closed by going back to the “disinformation” and “misinformation” lecture:
It’s notable that, even though poll after poll shows Americans generally didn’t put democracy and threats to it atop their list of voting concerns, he went back to it again last night talking about misinformation, disinformation, and threats to our democracy. That’s one of those things actually that, right now, people may not appreciate, but we could think about it differently in 50 years.
O’Keefe had the voice-over report in the regular CBS Mornings. Featured co-host Vladimir Duthiers had the set-up, saying Biden declared himself “very worried about the future because of the threat from misinformation, the misuse of technology, and the influence of some of the richest Americans.”
“You know, after more than 50 years in public life, President Biden used his farewell address to issue those warnings and told the American public it’s now their turn to stand guard,” O’Keefe then reported.
Later, O’Keefe cited the low poll number and chalked it up to “[c]oncerns with inflation, immigration, and his old age leave many Americans skeptical of his leadership, but...thinks history will be kinder.”
At NBC’s Today, chief White House correspondent Peter Alexander could have mentioned how Biden wouldn’t be trotted out for a final press conference and skipped the traditional year-end presser in December.
Of course, he didn’t bring that up. But what he did was gushing over Biden’s “valedictory speech” after having gone from “one of the youngest Americans elected senator when he first came to Washington” to “the oldest President ever to serve” “more than a half century later.”
He continued (click “expand”):
ALEXANDER: [F]rom behind the Resolute Desk one last time last night, touting his legacy and issuing a series of stark warnings about the future. In his farewell address after five decades in politics, President Biden looking to define his legacy following four tumultuous years.
BIDEN: Every day I kept my commitment to be President for all Americans, through one of the toughest periods in our nation’s history.
ALEXANDER: The President vigorously defending his record leading the nation out of a global pandemic, restoring jobs after an economic crisis, and heavily investing in the nation’s infrastructure, and clean energy initiatives. With President-Elect Trump set to retake the White House, President Biden highlighted the peaceful transfer of power.
BIDEN: I wish the incoming administration success because I want America to succeed.
ALEXANDER: Still, he delivered a dire warning about what he called a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of very few, very rich people.
BIDEN: An oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights, and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.
ALEXANDER: Another danger he warned? The growth of A.I. and big tech.
BIDEN: Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation. [SCREEN WIPE] The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit.
ALEXANDER: With First Lady Jill Biden, his son Hunter, and Vice President Harris in the room, this word of thanks.
BIDEN: She and Doug have become like family and, to me, family is everything.
ALEXANDER: After a lifetime in public service, the President calling on Americans to defend our democracy.
BIDEN: A nation where the strength of our institutions and the character of our people matter and must endure. Now, it’s your turn to stand guard.
ALEXANDER: While the majority of Americans say they are dissatisfied with his presidency, President Biden says it is going to take time for the full impact of all he accomplished to be felt. But, in his words, he insisted the “seeds are planted.”
ABC’s Good Morning America largely mirrored the network’s special report coverage from the night before with a very condensed dispatch from chief Biden regime apple polisher, Mary Bruce (click “expand”):
STRAHAN: More now on President Biden’s farewell address overnight. Biden delivered a defense of democracy and a stark warning to the nation. Our chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce joins us now with more. Good morning, Mary.
BRUCE: Good morning, Michael. Well, last night’s speech was a chance for the President to tout his accomplishments and try to define his own legacy. He did acknowledge that many of his policies haven’t resonated with Americans, saying that he has planted the seeds and it’s going to take some time. But what stood out most was the way he under scored the importance of American democracy and the need to protect it. The President, with a stark warning about unchecked power.
BIDEN: I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern. This is a dangerous concen — that’s a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people and the dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked. Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America, of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy.
BRUCE: Now, the President issuing a plea to protect democratic institutions like a free press, warning of the dangers of misinformation. And, as his own political career winds down after more than 50 years, he is urging Americans to stay engaged to keep up his fight, saying, “it is your turn to stand guard.” His final message to the American people? I love America. You love it, too.
To see the relevant transcripts from January 16, click here (for ABC), here (for CBS Mornings), here (for CBS Mornings Plus), and here (for NBC).
