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NPR Analyst Says Trump’s Not Reaganesque When He Complains About Pro-Biden Media Bias

Posted on 05 September 2020

On Friday, the traveling/groveling Biden press corps deeply embarrassed themselves with a series of questions begging Biden to denounce President Trump in the strongest terms. They asked nothing about: -- Violence in the streets, especially an Antifa activist killing a man in Portland -- Kamala Harris and Biden staffers bailing out rioters in Minneapolis -- Biden claiming in his remarks that “all” of America’s coronavirus deaths and suffering were caused by Trump (and in no way by China) -- If The Atlantic article trashing the president for allegedly trashing our war dead was coordinated with the Biden campaign. But on the Week in Review segment on Saturday morning's Weekend Edition on National Public Radio, their political analyst Ron Elving could only gush over The Atlantic and dismiss President Trump's criticisms of media bias. First, The Atlantic:  RON ELVING: Now we hear from the respected editor of the venerable Atlantic magazine at the zenith of its influence as a publication, accusing the president of saying these things about American soldiers who were killed or captured or wounded in action or missing in action, questioning why they would choose to do this with their lives. It’s explosive stuff, Scott! It relies on unnamed sources, which allows the president to deny saying any of it, and to use words like hoax and witch-hunt. Interesting, though, to see the president pounce on former chief of staff John Kelly so hard, just because Kelly refused to join with other White House officials who were defending the president. And then NPR anchor Scott Simon cued Elving up on the media tilt:  SCOTT SIMON: And the president again savaged the media for even posing the question, and he contrasted that with how he hears the questions the press has for Joe Biden. ELVING: Yeah the president took umbrage that reporters would even ask about that Atlantic story, saying they should be ashamed of themselves, and that they didn’t apply the same rigor to former vice president Joe Biden when asking him questions. Here’s the president. TRUMP soundbite: They were like, meant for a child. Those questions were meant for a child. Smiles on faces of reporters, not like you and you, there were smiles on the reporters – what do you think? Take a look at the questions they asked him. They were not meant for a grownup. They were meant for a child. ELVING:  Yeah. The president thinks reporters are nicer to Biden than to him. They smile at Biden, they ask him baby questions. Can you imagine Ronald Reagan or Dwight Eisenhower saying such things in a press briefing?  First of all, Ronald Reagan was a gentle critic, but you can't say he didn't discuss the media's liberal bias. But let's ask: Did Simon and Elving spend any time at all actually watching the Biden presser? Which started with Biden suggesting a cozy setup by calling on The Atlantic so they could ask Biden to assess whether Trump has the soul of a "coward"? If these weren't questions for a baby, they were certainly questions that sounded like they were penned by the Biden PR team.    If you'd like to complain to NPR, contact NPR Public Editor Kelly McBride with this contact form.