A CNN report on the quotidian habits of President Joe Biden prompted mockery from conservative Twitter users who cited the piece as an example of how the media soft-pedals its coverage of Democrats.
The report: In a feature published on Tuesday, CNN White House reporter Kevin Liptak detailed Biden’s “early bedtimes” and “preference for a fire built in the Oval Office fireplace,” adding that the president “sometimes adds a log himself to keep it going.”
- According to Liptak, Biden’s work routine is “more structured” than that of former President Donald Trump, who spent late nights watching television and whose aides “began blocking out large chunks of ‘executive time’ to accommodate his television viewing and telephone calls.”
- Liptak also highlighted Biden’s sense of familiarity with the rhythms of life in the White House, citing the decades the one-time senator spent working in Washington.
- Biden’s relationship with First Lady Jill Biden, meanwhile, also garnered positive notice from Liptak, who wrote: “More so than any recent first couple, Joe and Jill Biden have demonstrated a publicly affectionate relationship, one that extends to private moments spent together in the White House residence.”
The reaction: Conservatives, who have long accused the media of biased coverage against Republicans and Trump, took to Twitter to suggest CNN would never have published such a flattering profile of Biden’s predecessor.
- “This is the kind of hard-hitting journalism I’ve come to expect from CNN. Thank you,” snarked one commenter.
- A CNN tweet linking to the story was “ratioed,” receiving more than 10,000 replies, many of them from affronted conservative Twitter users.
A love story? It is doubtful that many on the right are expecting CNN’s bitter feud with the White House during Trump’s tenure to continue with Biden.
- So far, signs seem to indicate the opposite: In November, CNN political correspondent Van Jones wept with joy during a live segment as Biden was announced to have won the presidency.
