WaPo's Aaron Blake is just appalled that John Cornyn would make the kind of 'baseless and ugly innuendo' about Joe Biden that Aaron Blake made about Donald Trump

In case you missed it, GOP Sen. John Cornyn wondered aloud if President Joe Biden is really running the show:

The Biden White House media doctrine: Less can be more https://t.co/Gc6W1gubqB via @politico

— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) April 12, 2021

The president is not doing cable news interviews. Tweets from his account are limited and, when they come, unimaginably conventional. The public comments are largely scripted. Biden has opted for fewer sit down interviews with mainstream outlets and reporters.

— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) April 12, 2021

These are fair issues to raise. Biden is the President of the United States, after all. He’s supposed to do interviews and talk to people and whatnot.

Invites the question: is he really in charge?

— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) April 12, 2021

For what it’s worth, the Washington Post’s Aaron Blake took great offense to Cornyn’s question:

A U.S. senator on Monday morning suggested baselessly that a U.S. president isn't actually running the country.

It's latest iteration of a longstanding — and so far failed — effort to attack Biden for his low public profile.https://t.co/LUHwMqC4HG

— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) April 12, 2021

Blake writes:

Just a U.S. senator asking some questions.

Cornyn’s tweet builds upon a whisper campaign among conservatives that perhaps Biden isn’t actually engaged in doing his job. Some have even suggested that Vice President Harris is actually in charge or will be soon — a suggestion that, at its worst, carries real dog-whistles given her status as the first woman and first Black person to hold that job.

It’s a baseless and ugly bit of innuendo. There is no question the White House — just as the Biden campaign did — has motives beyond good government for keeping a lower profile and keeping Biden on-script. He has for years made a habit of stepping in it with his public comments. And the stakes are significantly higher now that he is the leader of the free world.

So, in addition to daring to question Joe Biden’s presidential fitness, John Cornyn was also possibly blowing a racist dog-whistle? Is there anyone who actually doubts for a second that Kamala Harris didn’t agree to be Joe Biden’s vice president for the express purpose of ultimately becoming president? And what’s baseless about any of this? Even Aaron Blake can’t deny that Joe Biden has a knack for jamming his foot into his mouth.

So come on, Aaron.

Baselessly? Seems kind of obvious at least half the time. https://t.co/XYH9NblQER

— Zach Ward (@UnrealZachWard) April 12, 2021

"baselessly"

That's the word that takes this from journalism to activism. https://t.co/Jk40h746hB

— Business Master Crapplefratz (@Crapplefratz) April 12, 2021

It’s one of the words, anyway.

When I look at what Biden's said in the past (and even relatively recently) vs. what's being done now that he's in office I can't conclude that he's calling the shots. https://t.co/ECQZcf8Da8

— Doug Powers (@ThePowersThatBe) April 12, 2021

Shocking to the media within the DC bubble, but this is a serious & reasonable question even Dems are asking. https://t.co/fJ9AIlY0dM

— Jon (@Jon_D_) April 12, 2021