WashPost, CNN 'Fact Checkers' RAGE at GOP for Noting White House Cut Biden's Feed in Idaho

Tim Graham
September 16th, 2021 6:49 AM

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Sister Toldjah at RedState reported that those “independent fact checkers” at CNN and The Washington Post rushed to Biden’s defense again on Tuesday. They were upset that Republicans pounced on Team Biden for cutting off the president’s White House video feed in mid-question on Monday in Idaho, like he was going to lose his marbles.

For Biden critics, this easily recalled the recent Politico story about how embarrassed the Bidenites are "filled with anxiety" are about Biden speaking in public and “some White House staffers will either mute him or turn off his remarks” at their desks.

And they had a reason: At this same event, Biden claimed "I got my first job offer...I interviewed for a job at Boise Cascade," the wood-products company. The company said it had no records to prove that.

The New York Post added "The Post was unable to locate any prior record of Biden mentioning the company — including in news clippings archived by the Nexis and Factiva databases. Biden’s 2007 memoir Promises to Keep does not mention the company or a desire to move to Idaho."

But CNN and The Washington Post weren't fact-checking Biden! They were upset at the Republicans. As RedState recounted:

The embarrassing moment was caught on video as Biden began questioning Washington State Forester George Geissler during the event.

“Can I ask you a question?” Biden began.

“Of course,” Geissler told him.

“One of the things that I’ve been working on with some others is —–” Biden says before the microphone’s audio was cut off. A “Thank you for joining” White House slide was then shown on the screen.

Glenn Kessler threw Four Pinocchios – his Pants on Fire rating – for Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) asking the Secretary of State “It’s been widely reported that somebody has the ability to push the button and cut off his sound and stop him from speaking. Who is that person?”

That’s actually a question. Someone obviously cut the feed. They didn’t “stop him from speaking.” They stopped the public from hearing it. But Kessler aggressively and defensively interpreted it (which ain’t fact checking) as “Who’s that person behind the scenes secretly controlling President Biden?” 

Kessler also had an outburst on Twitter about the "Murdock news bubble". (Correction: That's Murdoch, Glenn.) 

There was a point in here. The White House described this as a “pool spray,” which suggested in advance they would cut off the feed to the media once the president turned to questions. But the president clearly didn’t wait for his team to cut the feed. He plowed ahead.

Kessler’s conclusion sounded like angry spin, not checking facts:

Once again the RNC has made a mountain out of a molehill. The right-wing media, in an eagerness to keep alive a narrative of an elderly president controlled by his staff, quickly followed suit. It’s especially dismaying that a senior senator like Risch would fall prey to such nonsense and waste valuable time on it during an important national security hearing.

Biden may be old. He’s also a self-described “gaffe machine.” But, let’s not forget, Democrats had dismissed Reagan as an “amicable dunce” manipulated by his staff and then Reagan’s diary entries revealed a president much more hands-on and engaged than was believed during his presidency. So readers should be wary of partisan efforts to craft a narrative out of misleading clips.

Risch and the RNC earn Four Pinocchios.

So Kessler isn't really "fact checking" here. He's objecting to "partisan efforts to craft a narrative." As if The Washington Post is never guilty of this! The newspaper whose reporters have pumped out three hyperbolic anti-Trump books in 2021. 

CNN "fact checker" Daniel Dale also fussed this Republican gaffe patrol was "absurd," just "ridiculous"! 

You mean, a crazy story about getting his first job offer from an Idaho lumber company? 

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