Media top headlines September 20
In media news today, a Slate journalist allegedly sent a draft of a story to Fusion GPS about a possible link between Trump and a Russian bank, media pundits get mocked for trying to make news out of 'dud' Capitol Hill rally, and the New York Times comes under fire for describing Iranian nuclear scientist as a 'lover of poetry'
President Joe Biden faced a swath of criticism from a number of Sunday morning shows, with various hosts and pundits admitting he was having "a tough time" while highlighting his administration's recent setbacks.
Biden notably encountered a back-to-back wave of impediments to his agenda last Friday as the Pentagon announced that one of its recent drone strikes in Afghanistan had killed seven children and no terrorists, an FDA panel voted not to recommend coronavirus vaccine booster shots to vaccinated people over the age of 16, something Biden had been promoting, and France recalled its ambassador to the U.S. after being left out of a nuclear submarine deal between the U.S., U.K. and Australia.
NBC's "Sunday Today" host, Willie Geist, began the waves of criticism by questioning how the White House was handling its myriad problems during a discussion with fellow NBC host Chuck Todd.
"I think he’s got a pretty big credibility crisis on his hands because all of these problems, in some ways, showed up after he said something basically the exact opposite," Todd told Geist, citing the Afghanistan withdrawal, the coronavirus vaccine booster decision and the crisis at the southern border.
"He’s got a lot of work to do. I think the next month is going to probably still be tough for him politically because he’s got to get this big bill through Congress," Todd added, referring to the Democratic supported $3.5 trillion spending bill. "If he can get that thing passed, Willie, I think he can start to take a few breaths here a little bit. But he’s got a lot on the line here this month. That’s for sure."
Later on his show "Meet the Press," Todd admitted that it would be an "understatement" to say that last week had "not been a great week for the Biden presidency," as he went through all of the crises facing the administration.
‘SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES’ ON BIDEN'S ABILITY TO HANDLE FOREIGN POLICY ISSUES
Two of Todd's guests also piled on Biden, with Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason also admitting that he was having "a tough time," and that everything "got a lot worse" for him on Friday, and Punchbowl News founder Anna Palmer saying the administration didn't have the right messaging or policy to address the many crises on their plate.
Although he didn't go into as much detail as the two NBC hosts, CNN's Manu Raju also admitted that last week had been "a tough week" for Biden.
"Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace pointed out that "President Biden was already in trouble with the American people" over his handling of the situation in Afghanistan before the recent issues arose.
Associated Press executive editor Julie Pace noted the way Biden handled the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan angered many Americans, while also leaving open the potential for Al Qaeda or other extremist groups to pose a threat to Western countries, as well as Afghanistan itself.
Some in the media took a different approach to analyzing the Biden administration's setbacks, including Associated Press reporter Jonathan Lemire, who was mocked for describing the administration's impediments as "uncontrollable events."
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