Biden Tells Howard Stern ‘Modern Media’ Is ‘Worried About Attacking’ Trump: ‘Free Press Is Not Speaking Up as Much as It Used To’
Zachary LeemanApr 26th, 2024, 12:04 pm
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Joe Biden accused some in the media of being overly “worried” about “attacking” former President Donald Trump during an hour long interview with Howard Stern.
The White House announced Biden’s live interview with Stern shortly before airtime on Friday. The president opened up about his early days as a public defender, a senator, and about losing his son Beau, his daughter Naomi, and first wife, Neila. Stern mostly touched on personal topics during the interview, but when the conversation turned to Biden’s likely November opponent, the president accused the “modern media” of being too soft on Trump.
“One of the things is there are no editors anymore!” Biden said about flaws with the “modern media.”
The president previewed some of his comments for Saturday’s White House Correspondents Dinner, saying he plans on quoting Thomas Jefferson and celebrating the idea of a “free press.”
“The free press is not speaking up as much as it used to,” Biden said.
The president did not point to any specific outlets or coverage, but said, “I think some of them are worried about attacking him, worried about taking him on.”
While Biden’s comments on the media were not specific to any outlet, they do follow an explosive report from Politico, based on dozens of sources, suggesting there’s a “cold war” of sorts between the White House and The New York Times, mainly over coverage of the former president.
Among the suggestions in the report was that Times publisher AG Sulzberger was “quietly” pushing negative coverage of Biden based on the president refusing an interview with the paper. The Times denied the allegation in a statement and multiple reporters pushed back on the claim.
Listen to the full interview between Stern and Biden here via SiriusXM.
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com
