Journalist Alex Thompson called out the press for failing to properly report on former President Joe Biden’s declining health at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday.
Thompson, a reporter for Axios, accepted the White House Correspondents’ Association’s Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence in White House Coverage. His reporting closely documented Biden’s disastrous debate performance against President Donald Trump, the events leading up to it, and Biden’s eventual decision to exit the race. In his acceptance speech, Thompson acknowledged that the press fell short in covering the story of Biden’s decline.
“Being truth tellers also means telling the truth about ourselves. We, myself included, missed a lot of this story,” Thompson said, speaking before a room of journalists from major news outlets.
He added, “President Biden’s decline and its cover-up by the people around him is a reminder that every White House, regardless of party, is capable of deception.”
Following Biden’s withdrawal from the race, several journalists admitted they had not sufficiently scrutinized the president’s health. Concerns mounted after Biden’s debate performance, when viewers noted his rambling answers and raspy voice.
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Thompson said the media’s failure to investigate and report more aggressively on Biden’s condition contributed to growing public distrust of journalism.
“Some people trust us less because of it,” he said. “We bear some responsibility for faith in the media being at such lows. I say this because acknowledging errors builds trust, and being defensive about them further erodes it.”
He concluded with a stark admission: “We should have done better.”
Gallup polling from October 2024 reflects the erosion of trust in American institutions, including the press. Only 31% of Americans reported having a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in the media to report the news accurately.
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Thompson’s comments come amid broader conversations about media accountability. Earlier this year, NPR CEO Katherine Maher testified before Congress, admitting the organization mishandled its coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop story during the 2020 election.
“I do want to say that NPR acknowledges we were mistaken in failing to cover the Hunter Biden laptop story more aggressively and sooner,” Maher told lawmakers. She later described the lack of coverage as a “mistake.”
