On Tuesday, Americans received an answer to one of the biggest sources of speculation in American politics over the past few months: will President Joe Biden run for reelection given his advanced age and apparent cognitive decline? The answer was yes. Later that evening, CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News surprisingly noted the concerns many voters had regarding Biden’s age and ability to serve as President for another four years. The two evening network newscasts even reported on polling that showed voters did not want him to seek another term.
For his report on CBS Evening News, senior White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe revealed that “a new CBS News poll shows challenges ahead for Mr. Biden. A large majority describe the country as out of control, and nearly half of Democrats don't want him to run again.”
"They overwhelmingly cite his age as a reason,” he noted. O’Keefe then spoke to two young voters, both of whom thought Biden was too old:
UNIDENTIFIED FLORIDA VOTER 1: Well, I just don't think that he's fit enough still to be president. I feel like he is older, and he is getting older.
UNIDENTIFIED FLORIDA VOTER 2: I think he's too old. This is a new generation, and I think they are stuck in the old ways.
NBC Nightly News was even harsher on Biden, with White House correspondent Peter Alexander reporting on a recent “NBC News poll [that] shows only 41 percent of Americans approve of the job President Biden is doing. 54 percent disapprove.”
“70 percent of Americans say they don't want President Biden to run for reelection, including most Democrats. But 60 percent of Americans say they don't want Mr. Trump to run again either,” Alexander added.
Later on in the report, Alexander spoke to an independent voter who was frustrated by the 40-year-high inflation caused by Biden and the Democrat Congress’s reckless spending:
ALEXANDER: Independent Larry Largist, a painter, is frustrated by high inflation.
ALEXANDER (TO LARRY LARGIST): Are you satisfied with the economy these days?
LARRY LARGIST: No, I’m really not. Prices are going up. Rent’s going up. Food’s going up. My wages aren't going up.
ALEXANDER: And echoing what polls say many are concerned about, President Biden's age. He’d be 86 at the end of a second term.
LARGIST: I think he's getting a little long in the tooth. He’s getting a little bit old, you know. And have I some concerns on his mental faculties.
ABC’s World News Tonight, for their part made no mention of the stiff headwinds Biden faces in his upcoming fight for reelection. Instead, the network newscast spent the entirety of the segment playing stenographer and regurgitating what Biden said during his announcement.
This bias by omission from ABC’s World News Tonight was made possible by Verizon. Their information is linked.
The transcripts are below. Click “expand” to read:
CBS Evening News
4/25/2023
6:36:14 p.m. EasternED O’KEEFE: A new CBS News poll shows challenges ahead for Mr. Biden. A large majority describe the country as out of control, and nearly half of Democrats don't want him to run again. They overwhelmingly cite his age as a reason. Younger voters in South Florida today expressed those concerns
UNIDENTIFIED FLORIDA VOTER: Well, I just don't think that he's fit enough still to be president. I feel like he is older, and he is getting older.
UNIDENTIFIED FLORIDA VOTER: I think he's too old. This is a new generation, and I think they are stuck in the old ways.
O’KEEFE: But in Washington, union president Sean Mcgarvey said age shouldn't matter.
SEAN MCGARVEY: I'll tell you, my father was in the audience today. My father is 85 years old, and my father could whip my ass. Okay? So I don't worry about it a bit.
O’KEEFE: Most national Democrats like former President Barack Obama today reached out to supporters via email and social media urging them to donate to the Biden campaign. And another former opponent, Senator Bernie Sanders, said he’s on board and will not challenge the sitting President. Norah?
NBC Nightly News
4/25/2023
6:33:16 p.m. EasternPETER ALEXANDER: Still, our NBC News poll shows only 41 percent of Americans approve of the job President Biden is doing. 54 percent disapprove. The president's move setting up a possible rematch with former President Trump, posting this response.
DONALD TRUMP: With such a calamitous and failed presidency, it is almost inconceivable that Biden would even think of running for reelection.
ALEXANDER: 70 percent of Americans say they don't want President Biden to run for reelection, including most Democrats. But 60 percent of Americans say they don't want Mr. Trump to run again either. Today in battleground Pennsylvania, the critical Philly suburbs, we found voters like small business owner like Dora Raieta, exasperated by the possibility of another Biden-Trump showdown. What do you make of that rematch?
DORA RAIETA: A mess. A mess.
ALEXANDER: Why?
RAIETA: I think they both are very extreme. And I think we need someone that’s kind of in the middle.
ALEXANDER: Cafe owner Christine Hicks strongly supports President Biden because she says he'll protect abortion rights.
CHRISTINE HICKS: For my granddaughter, I want her to have choice. And it is upsetting to know that she has less choices now than we did.
ALEXANDER: But she’s less supportive of Vice President Kamala Harris who’s featured prominently in today’s video.
HICKS: I don't think I would vote for Kamala if she was running for President. But she's -- you know, she supports him, and I think it's a good thing.
ALEXANDER: Independent Larry Largist, a painter, is frustrated by high inflation.
ALEXANDER (TO LARRY LARGIST): Are you satisfied with the economy these days?
LARRY LARGIST: No, I’m really not. Prices are going up. Rent’s going up. Food’s going up. My wages aren't going up.
ALEXANDER: And echoing what polls say many are concerned about, President Biden's age. He’d be 86 at the end of a second term.
LARGIST: I think he's getting a little long in the tooth. He’s getting a little bit old, you know. And have I some concerns on his mental faculties.
ALEXANDER: But retired truck driver Mike Lowry tells us, he’s not worried.
