Media Research Center President Brent Bozell on Thursday described the unfolding tragedy in Afghanistan as a “worldwide disaster” that even “compliant” liberal allies of Joe Biden are having trouble spinning. Appearing on Varney and Co., he declared, “The world has seen this President fail as commander-in-chief.”
Putting aside “nutjobs like Joy Reid,” the MRC President reminded, “This is a media that would like to help this guy.” But when you have the President snapping at George Stephanopoulos and repeatedly walking out of “press conferences” without taking questions, they can’t.
Bozell said of the negative press Biden is currently getting: “Even hardened but serious journalists are looking at this and they're saying ‘This is a real problem. Something very serious is going on here.’”
A transcript of the segment is below.
Varney and Co.
8/19/2021
10:50 AM ET
JOE BIDEN: God bless you all and may got protect our troops. Thank you. [Reporters yell questions at Biden as he walks away.]
STUART VARNEY: There you have it, he walked away, took no questions. That was yesterday afternoon. Now look at the headlines this morning. It seems like the media is turning on President Biden. These headlines are all negative. Look at that, from The Washington Post, New York Times, Reuters, those are negative about President Biden. Let's call in media guy Brent Bozell. Do you agree with that? Does it seem to you like the media is just beginning to turn on Biden or is it just wishful thinking on my part?
BRENT BOZELL: Stuart, it is inescapable. This is a worldwide disaster. The world has seen this President fail as commander-in-chief. So the media can't avoid this but you know what happened with this coronavirus press conference to me is just baffling. It is along the lines of the White House releasing the picture of the President in camp David looking like a child who has been kept after school writing lines. They put him in front of the press to try to deflect attention from the disaster he caused in Afghanistan and yet he caused another controversy by walking off the stage. This is the second time in a week that he has done it. He is only feeding the narrative that he is not in charge of this White House. So, this hurts him.
VARNEY: Why is he running, I hate to say running away. Why is he not being more public? Why are his handlers keeping him away from the public? Why are they doing that?
BOZELL: Stuart, I genuinely don't understand this. It is one of two things. Either he has got the most incompetent --- one of three things. Either he has the most incompetent staff ever assembled by man, or they're trying to protect him, or it is both of those things. I'm suspecting there are both of those things at this point. Again, releasing that picture, making him look like an idiot at Camp David, trying to say he is the commander-in-chief in charge. Having him walk off press conferences two times. How can the staff allow this, unless there is a bigger problem.
VARNEY: What you're alluding to those people who are saying this President at this moment is not up to the job. That is what you're getting at.
BOZELL: Especially when you’ve got a media that have been so compliant. Look at this, in the southern border, the coverage of the southern border, another disaster. The media have given it 96 percent no coverage on this whatsoever. Day after day after day. They have given it no coverage. So, this is media that would like to help this guy, but they still walk him off the stage. This is, this is, this is not, this is not good for America.
VARNEY: But does it reduce the president's clout, his political capital, his clout in politics? Does that, is he chopped off from this?
BOZELL: I've got to think that even hardened liberals in the press, I don't mean nutjobs like Joy Reid and others, people who are on PBS who defended this disaster in Afghanistan, I don't mean them, I'm saying that even hardened but serious journalists are looking at this and they're saying “This is a real problem. Something very serious is going on here.”
VARNEY: Brent Bozell, thank you very much for joining us. We do appreciate it. And I hope to see you a lot, soon. See you later.
BOZELL: Thank you, Stuart.
