We told you a couple of days ago about Catherine Rampell, op-ed columnist for the Washington Post, and her positing the “stomach-turning possibility” that President Biden didn’t act sooner in Afghanistan because he “was afraid of what Fox News might say.” As ridiculous as that is, we’ve seen media types like CNN’s Jake Tapper really take the Biden administration to task for the botched withdrawal.
In fact, HuffPost is reporting that Biden and his allies feel that some major media outlets have adopted a “pro-war stance” and are providing “unduly hawkish coverage” of the pullout.
After years of ignoring Afghanistan, many close to the Biden White House — and the president himself — feel some major outlets are adopting a pro-war stance. https://t.co/UrBpfO0Csv
— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) August 20, 2021
What?
As President Joe Biden ended his news conference on Friday afternoon about the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, a reporter called out an especially bellicose question.
“Why do you continue to trust the Taliban, Mr. President?” the reporter said.
…
But the reporter’s criticism-masquerading-as-query was the culmination of a week’s worth of dramatic finger-pointing and fretting from a Washington press corps that usually prides itself on neutrality.
Although the White House’s failure to foresee the rapid fall of the Afghan government and prepare accordingly has exacerbated the chaos of the U.S. withdrawal, Biden and his allies are furious with what they see as reporters’ and pundits’ unduly hawkish coverage of the exit.
…
To critics of the Washington press corps’s coziness with the national security establishment, some reporters’ selective indignation about the withdrawal is nothing new.
“The Washington industrial complex is always going to be more in favor of having a muscular military approach,” said [Eric] Schultz, who is now a senior adviser to Obama. “That will always be the gravitational pull in Washington.”
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So Biden and his supporters are sad that the mainstream media they’ve relied on have become so pro-war.
— Rory M. arcus🚀 (@Rory_Marcus_) August 21, 2021
pro war or pro saving as many people as possible?
— Drew Turney (@DrewTurneyTX) August 20, 2021
Hawkish? More like embarrassed by the poorly handled withdrawal…
— Bruce Bigg (@brucebigg) August 21, 2021
I wonder if that's because we COULD ignore Afghanistan as it was relatively uneventful. Now…not so much.
— Tortured Faculty (@FacultyTortured) August 21, 2021
I have yet to see a “pro-war” stance from any major news outlet. I have, however, seen the WAY we withdrew from the war rightly widely criticized.
— Electile Dysfunction, M.D. (@ElectileDysfx) August 21, 2021
not pro-war, just anti-incompetence. Especially when Presidential incompetence is directly resulting in such a disaster of historic proportions.
— Bradley Stillabower (@BradleyStillab1) August 21, 2021
Sorry they won't just let him surrender to the Taliban and abandon Americans and our allies without any pushback.
These guys are so used to having the press in their pocket that they are shocked and outraged over the press covering them critically here. https://t.co/f4sRRlEEE7
— AG (@AGHamilton29) August 21, 2021
And they are going fairly easy on Biden in comparison to how they could/should be. I haven't seen any articles discussing the need to replace him, if he's too old or senile; just laying out the basic facts of the situation.
— fata4life (@elivenspire) August 21, 2021
I’m glad people are finally catching on to the cottage industry established by people like @EricBoehlert where they cry foul and bias (not a joke) in any instance where the press divert attention away from the GOP even for a second.
— Matt (@realMattMon) August 21, 2021
Maybe they weren't interested because everything was relatively stable until Biden decided to haphazardly pull the rug out from under everyone as a 9/11 publicity stunt leading to one of the greatest foreign policy and humanitarian debacles in our history?
— Castaway (@Castawa21779024) August 21, 2021
They act like several outlets haven't run interference for him. But the fact they're not all in lockstep is enough for them to whine about it.
— 'Mean Bastard' Jon (@SixOhJon) August 21, 2021
MSNBC’s Joy Reid is doing enough cover for the Biden administration by herself alone, shaming the media for being so harsh.
Ah yes, not wanting a terrorist organization to subjugate women to torture, gain billions in free military equipment, and kill American citizens abandoned by their government is totally “pro-war” and nothing else. Good take. Keep sniffing the perineum of power.
— Steven 🇺🇸🇮🇹🇻🇦 (@SFlipp) August 21, 2021
Ah yes, it's peoples fault for looking at the barbed wire baby picture. How dare people look at what's happening right now? Journalists shouldn't let people see things that don't look good for Biden!
— Jennifer V.S. (@JenniferVersus) August 20, 2021
The Taliban is whipping Americans in the streets of Kabul, and this is your take?
— There’s No “I” in Teamocil (@marylanestrow) August 21, 2021
People are pissed that he gave away our weapons and left Americans in the hands of our enemy. Not that he wanted to end the war.
— GlennAC (@GlennAC14) August 20, 2021
Getting our people and allies out safely = pro war.
— GrassToucher (@Canigetawatwat) August 21, 2021
https://twitter.com/UncleFestering/status/1429137820396949510
50 years we’ve been watching this guy screwup foreign policy. 50 years!
— Mike Masters (@mikemasters714) August 21, 2021
It’s not a pro-war stance. It’s a pro-don’t fuck up the withdrawal and leave Americans to the Taliban stance.
— Taro Tsujimoto (@RCannon74) August 21, 2021
What a clownshow 🤡🤡🤡
— Liberty above all (@Pro_2_A) August 21, 2021
You can't let the exit be a shitshow- WITH PICS AND VIDEO- and not get hammered, Mr. @POTUS. https://t.co/mrsKAsx11a
— Dennis Herring (@dcherring) August 21, 2021
After months of softball coverage as Biden called lid after lid each day on the campaign trail, the WH & their allies are frustrated that some journalists decided to actually do journalism & reporting.
At least they’re not frustrated with Americans trapped in Afghanistan. 🤷🏻♂️ https://t.co/sOIWpgeDxC
— TheRightWingM 🇺🇸 (@TheRightWingM) August 21, 2021
What a stupid take pic.twitter.com/ZMM7Vb6wrz
— Brad Fisher (@tiercel76) August 21, 2021
Stupid strawman.
— Josh 🐙🌐😄 (@karnoa) August 21, 2021
Related:
Joy Reid fawns over the Biden admin’s handling of Afghanistan, shames media for being tough on him when the American Taliban is still at large [videos] https://t.co/iEXbFQukNk
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 20, 2021
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