President Joe Biden has a problem. America's journalists are doing everything they can to help him solve it, but as is often the case when journalists try to help, the problem is only getting worse.
The 81-year-old president has sought to base his reelection campaign on "Bidenomics." Alas, most voters aren't pleased with the state of the economy. Just 14 percent of Americans, and just 24 percent of Democrats, said they were better off financially under Biden, according to a Financial Times poll of registered voters released last month.
Enter the liberal journalists, who have rushed to Biden's aid by doing what they do best: shaming the American public for having the wrong opinions. "The U.S. economy is humming, so why are Americans so grumpy about it?" asked NPR host A Martínez in late October. "Bidenomics looks like nothing short of a miracle right now," said Mehdi Hasan, the anti-Israel MSNBC host whose show was recently canceled. "And yet, ask Americans these days about the economy and most of them think and say it's in really bad shape."
Politico lamented last week that Biden "may soon bear witness to an economic miracle" that "might not mean a lick to voters," and quoted longtime Democratic strategist James Carville scolding voters for failing to appreciate the president's success. "People's attitudes about the economy are pretty stubbornly in the wrong place," he said. Joy Behar, cohost of The View, complained about Americans holding negative views of Biden when "statistically the economy has gotten better."
The Atlantic published several articles shaming voters for failing to appreciate Biden's economic achievements. "Inflation Is Your Fault," wrote Annie Lowrey, the wife of multimillionaire New York Times columnist Ezra Klein. Staff writer Jerusalem Demsas tried to explain "why Americans hate a good economy," noting that a former Barack Obama adviser had described the aforementioned Financial Times poll results as "impossible" because the "vast majority of Americans are better off financially. Full stop."
MSNBC host Chris Hayes, among others, blamed the mainstream media for highlighting "negative" news about the economy while downplaying the positive news—as if a New York Times headline about upwardly-adjusted quarterly GDP numbers will resonate with average Americans who are tired of paying more for the things they need.
Former CNN correspondent John Harwood agreed, berating his fellow journalists for their "astonishingly obtuse" coverage of the post-pandemic recovery. He implored the media to do a better job explaining that the economy "is doing well, not poorly" and that Biden "is handling the job effectively." If they don't, Harwood warned, "Trump could win."
That is ultimately what explains the mounting frustration among journalists and other Democrats. If the experts with the "right" opinions can't use their annualized data spreadsheets to persuade American voters the economy is actually good, those voters might make the "wrong" choice in 2024. Our cherished democracy would cease to exist and all that.
Journalists don't know how to relate to average voters but they do know how to read polls. They know that Biden is unpopular and widely considered too old to serve another term. They are particularly alarmed by the fact that most voters, who don't really care about politics and are just struggling to get by in the Biden economy, are immune to their hysterical doom-mongering about former president Donald Trump, who currently leads Biden in several key states.
The message to the American people is clear: We journalists sacrificed so much for you by saving democracy during the first Trump administration. We might not be able to do it again. You racist simpletons think you're struggling financially? No, you're not. But even if you are, that's not a good enough reason to vote for the candidate we don't like.
Trump-Era Journos: Will America Ever Be Worthy of Their Sacrifice?