We often associate “cheat sheets” with tests in school, but President Biden made headlines with one this week. The President of South Korea was in D.C. on an official visit, and the two heads of state held a joint press conference outside the White House.
However, things got dicey when one well-positioned photographer got a snap of President Biden with a card clearly labeled Reporter Q&A April 26, 2023 and right below that a handwritten “Question #1. Below that: the reporter’s photo, name Courtney Subramanian (conveniently with pronunciation guide), Los Angeles Times, title “Foreign Policy/semiconductor manufacturing,” and some related text.
Lo and behold, during the Q&A, President Biden did call on Ms. Subramanian. And surprise surprise, her question was about the American push to manufacture our own semiconductors and how that might hurt allies like South Korea with their own large manufacturers. Interestingly, only two reporters were called on during the whole episode.
The whole event now appears to be a sham. It was designed to look like some “real press conference” where real reporters asked a real leader real questions. But it was all fake. If a politician has the questions in advance and knows who to call on, there is no thinking or problem solving involved. It’s just play-acting.
The state visit was supposed to celebrate 70 years of the crucial US-South Korea alliance. My dad, who at age 90 was still riding a bicycle, was a Korean War veteran and if he were still here with us, I’m sure he would have been outraged by this whole absurd spectacle. His wife of 71 years agrees.
Since 1987 I’ve been a teacher, and although no two scenarios are ever completely the same, imagine my principal is scheduled to come in and observe for my performance evaluation. Now imagine me before class coaching one of the students. “Now Billy, after the principal comes in and sits down, I need you to raise your hand and ask, ‘What were some of the main causes of World War I?’ And whatever you do, don’t tell her I asked you to do this.”
That’s outrageous, but it basically seems to be what President Biden did yesterday. And just think: this time he got caught. How long has this been going on, and we’ve had no idea?
Ironically, this snafu occurred exactly one day after Biden announced his re-election bid. (Rather than making such a huge proclamation in person like most candidates do, he did his via a Hollywood-like video that posted at 6:00 am. I guess that was to avoid the risk of another in-person gaffe.)
This is not the first time the president has been caught with incriminating notes. Once some notes were photographed that looked like instructions one would give a child:
“YOU enter the Roosevelt Room and say hello to participants,” the notes instructed, “YOU take YOUR seat.”
Polls, anecdotal evidence, and if we’re honest our own senses tell us President Biden is seriously challenged mentally and physically. It was on display during the 2020 campaign, but between his hiding in his Delaware basement and collusion from most of the media, it was downplayed and the rest is history. Clearly, Biden and his administration have a lot to gain from such collusion with the media, by trying to look stronger than they are and cover their weaknesses.
It seems to me, the real culprit in this story in the Los Angeles Times. Whereas a politician is expected to try to look good, the media is supposed to ask tough questions and bring useful information to their audience. It’s their job. But if this is what it appears to be, the LA Times — a publication that some joke serves an area called LaLa Land, is not an actual newspaper but is just a propaganda arm for the Biden administration. When this scandal hit the fan, of course the LA Times denied sending questions to the White House in advance. But as one commentator put it, “If the LA Times isn’t submitting questions to the White House, then it must be the White House telling the LA Times what questions to ask.”
Otherwise, what possible explanation is there for the comments on the card nearly matching the text of the actual question she asked?
We wonder why trust in the corporate, mainstream media is so low? And we wonder why we elect and then tolerate such sub-standard politicians?
The longer I live, the more I think many of our problems we face come from dishonest media. Or, to perhaps be more accurate, political shills who masquerade as unbiased journalists.
If this shabby episode isn’t an example of Biden — LA Times collusion, how do you explain it?
Source: news.com.au
–Scott Dreyer
