For years, America’s corporate media insisted it was a fearless watchdog, ever-vigilant in its scrutiny of power. But the last four years have shown just how selective that scrutiny can be. While the press hounded President Donald Trump with endless speculation about his mental and physical health-often based on little more than armchair diagnoses and anonymous sources-it offered Joe Biden a protective media cocoon, allowing a shadow presidency to unfold in plain sight.

Now, with Biden no longer seeking re-election and the consequences of his incapacitation impossible to ignore, legacy outlets have suddenly rediscovered the concept of presidential fitness. But this newfound interest isn’t a sign of journalistic integrity-it’s a confession of dereliction. For four years, the press refused to confront the obvious: Joe Biden was not mentally or physically capable of discharging the duties of the presidency. And the American people are still paying the price.

Consider how Trump’s health was covered. From the moment he took office in 2017, a coalition of pundits, columnists, and self-declared experts launched a campaign to paint him as mentally unfit. In February of that year, Forbes published an article spotlighting an online petition signed by tens of thousands of supposed mental health professionals-none of whom were verified-that called for Trump’s removal under the 25th Amendment. The petition, rooted in vague, unsubstantiated claims, set the tone for years of breathless media speculation.

It didn’t stop there. When Trump underwent a routine physical in 2018, The New York Times ran a piece filled with judgmental innuendo. The article mused about Trump’s diet, habits, and secrecy, as if his affinity for red meat and Diet Coke was evidence of psychological instability. The Times cited historical examples of doctors allegedly covering up illnesses in past presidents, using this to justify their probing questions about Trump’s medical records. The implication was clear: Trump couldn’t be trusted, and neither could anyone who vouched for his health.

When White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson publicly announced that Trump was in excellent health, reporters launched a barrage of questions that bordered on harassment. They demanded neurological assessments, cognitive tests, and second opinions-treating Trump’s doctor like a hostile witness in a criminal trial.

Even after Trump left office, the speculation didn’t end. Legacy media outlets routinely resurfaced concerns about his physical and mental state, particularly when it served to contrast him unfavorably with Biden, who was depicted as calm, empathetic, and-ironically-stable.

Contrast this with how Joe Biden was treated. From the earliest days of his 2020 campaign, Biden’s cognitive slips, verbal gaffes, and physical stumbles were dismissed as harmless quirks. Media analysts fell over themselves to explain away his forgetfulness or frequent confusion as just “Joe being Joe.” When questions arose about who was really making decisions inside the Biden administration, the press defaulted to silence.

For much of his presidency, Biden was frequently absent from the public eye. He gave fewer press conferences than his predecessors, often relied on notecards or teleprompters in interviews, and sometimes appeared visibly lost on stage. Despite these warning signs, the media showed no interest in probing deeper. Major networks, cable pundits, and national newspapers either ignored the issue or insisted that concerns about Biden’s mental acuity were a Republican smear campaign.

This willful blindness allowed an unelected cadre of advisers, bureaucrats, and ideologues to run the country with minimal oversight. Major policy initiatives-from border enforcement to economic regulation to foreign interventions-were driven by nameless insiders. The president, meanwhile, remained largely out of sight, and when he did appear, his performance often raised more questions than answers. Still, the media refused to acknowledge the emperor had no clothes.

Now that Biden has withdrawn from the 2024 race-after disastrous public appearances, including a humiliating debate performance-some of the very same outlets that protected him are racing to reclaim credibility. The New York Times and Washington Post have all begun publishing think pieces and editorials questioning Biden’s mental fitness, suggesting that perhaps the warning signs were there all along.

But this belated honesty doesn’t redeem them. It condemns them. These institutions didn’t fail to see Biden’s decline-they chose to ignore it. They saw their role not as holding power accountable, but as shielding a Democratic president from scrutiny, even as the country drifted under his inert leadership.

The damage of this media malpractice is incalculable. A functioning press is supposed to be the fourth estate-a check on executive overreach, incompetence, or secrecy. Instead, we got a propaganda arm that decided political loyalty mattered more than truth. Their silence enabled a pseudo-regency, where unelected officials operated behind the scenes while a figurehead president struggled to keep up.

Worse, by ignoring Biden’s decline, the media deprived the American public of the opportunity to make informed decisions. Voters were led to believe that Biden was alert, capable, and actively governing. In reality, the administration was on autopilot, managed by ideologues and staffers who answered to no one.

The mainstream press no longer serves the people. It serves power-specifically, Democratic power. When Trump was in office, every misstep, awkward statement, or bad medical report was front-page news. With Biden, the press locked arms to prevent any narrative that might weaken him politically. This is not journalism. It is information warfare.

These same outlets still style themselves as “defenders of democracy,” but democracy cannot function without an informed public. By refusing to report honestly on Biden’s condition, the media violated the very democratic norms they claim to cherish.

The legacy press hopes that its sudden pivot to honesty will convince Americans of its integrity. But the record is clear: these institutions buried the truth about Biden until it no longer served their interests. They are not watchdogs. They are political operatives with press credentials.

Until Americans can once again count on a press that speaks truth to power-regardless of which party holds it-our democracy will remain at risk. The media’s protection of Biden wasn’t just a journalistic failure. It was a betrayal.

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