The New York Times gave Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden free press Sunday because he hasn’t said anything stupid recently.
Biden is praised in the story, which was featured on the paper’s app Sunday night, for making it a few weeks into his presidential bid without going off message. “‘There He Goes Again?’ Not Yet, as Biden Avoids Major Gaffes,” the headline reads.
“Just over two weeks into Mr. Biden’s candidacy, the most notable feature of his campaign may be what hasn’t happened: He has not blurted anything out that delights his rivals, horrifies his aides and reinforces his image as ‘Uncle Joe,’ America’s there-he-goes-again relative who makes you smile and wince in equal measure,” reported The New York Times. (RELATED: Biden Announces Presidential Bid By Praising Antifa)
Biden is an early frontrunner for the Democratic nominee and has garnered most of the media attention in the Democratic primary race. Cable news networks mentioned him more than three times as often as any other Democratic candidate in the first week of May, continuing a trend of press attention that has frustrated some progressive activists and voters.
“Joe Biden twice failed to win a bid for the presidency and yet, here we are — third time’s a charm?” one female Colorado voter told Quartz, expressing her discontent that female candidates such as Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris aren’t getting more attention.
“I know that we have been cultured to feel that only the white man can save us,” a progressive organizer in Texas told the Associated Press. “I just don’t feel like Biden is our answer.”
Leading New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman defended the Sunday headline on Twitter after Forbes contributor Mark Joyella tweeted: “So, [Warren] has bold policy proposals and deeply-thought opinions. But Joe has avoided saying dumb things for a few days. Guess who gets a news story?”
We’ve written many stories on Warren’s policy proposals. https://t.co/kqTwI42nkj
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) May 12, 2019
“We’ve written many stories on Warren’s policy proposals,” she wrote.