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Former Biden administration staffer Michael LaRosa accused Democrats of expressing “faux outrage” over a Wall Street Journal article that detailed concerns about President Joe Biden’s age on Wednesday.
The Wall Street Journal published an article titled, “Behind Closed Doors, Biden Shows Signs of Slipping,” on Tuesday evening, which quoted sources – mostly Republican – who expressed concern over Biden’s cognitive abilities and advanced age.
Democrats were quick to pounce, accusing the Wall Street Journal of publishing a Republican “hit piece” and alleging that their own quotes defending the president’s age were not published.
One prominent former Biden administration staffer, however, defended the article and tore into the criticisms made by leading Democrats.
1. The faux outrage over the use of blind sources is especially rich coming from political staffers in both parties
2. What credible or objective reporter/outlet actually WANTS to take the same on the record quotes from provided by the WH’s approved list of surrogates to offer… https://t.co/es7GxkSLKa
— Michael LaRosa (@MichaelLaRosaDC) June 5, 2024
“The faux outrage over the use of blind sources is especially rich coming from political staffers in both parties,” wrote LaRosa, who served as press secretary for First Lady Jill Biden between 2021 and 2022:
What credible or objective reporter/outlet actually WANTS to take the same on the record quotes from provided by the WH’s approved list of surrogates to offer with the same pre-approved and WH-written language/talking points? The NYT, the WSJ, the WAPO are not extensions of the Democratic Party and nor should they be.
LaRosa argued that if Biden’s age was still such a “sensitive” topic for the White House, they should have provided “powerful voices who are in the room with POTUS every single day” to “go ON THE RECORD” with an “unscripted and authentic” defense.
“@FLOTUS, Valerie, Zients, Blinkin, Naomi Biden, Ashley Biden, Barack Obama, Bill/Hillary Clinton! C’mon on now!” he wrote. “Would any legacy newspaper, including the WSJ, ever turn down or kill a quote from any of those voices???? C’mon now.”
Noting that several anonymous Democrats expressed concern over Biden’s age to the Wall Street Journal, LaRosa continued, “Let’s not pretend like we don’t know what happens to Democrats who regurgitate unfiltered, unapproved, and unscripted analysis. Why would ANY of the 20 Democratic Admin officials and lawmakers who spoke to the @WSJ go on the record with their candid impressions?”
LaRosa also criticized Democrats for suggesting that the Wall Street Journal had no interest in quoting prominent Democrats who defended Biden, pointing out that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-NY), and a White House staffer were all quoted in the article.
The former Biden staffer concluded, “To be clear, the criticism of the WSJ is over the top, misplaced, and misguided. But I also don’t believe, buy, or agree with the story’s premise for a second.”
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