Letters

Some news sources tried to inform you about Joe Biden’s issues, while others, like the mainstream media, lied to you. But if you watched the debate, you saw what you saw and you cannot unsee it. Biden showed America that he is unfit to be president of the United States.

I believe it is critically important that America has a vibrant, bulldog press. A press in search of the truth. Our democracy depends on it — and that is why I write about its failures.

Numerous video clips of Biden, either frozen in place or disoriented, were offered as evidence of his decline over the past couple of months, but the White House and the mainstream media told their audiences that the clips were “cheap fakes.” A cover-up by the White House, abetted by the mainstream media.

Robert Hur’s report, rather than ringing an alarm bell about Biden, was dismissed and ridiculed by Democrats, the mainstream media and the White House. Vice President Kamala Harris said the report was, “inaccurate and inappropriate.” A cover-up by the Democrats and White House, abetted by the mainstream media.

To date, the mainstream media has not held itself accountable nor issued mea culpas on its many lies — Russian collusion, Hunter’s laptop, Wuhan Lab leak and social media censorship — because its audience did not care that it was lying. The goal was the destruction of Donald Trump. It was fine with all concerned, no change in behavior was necessary — continue what you are doing, full steam ahead. It did not have a MAGA audience anyway, so why change?

Then came the Biden health cover-up. The White House and mainstream media lies have been exposed. A critical mass of Americans’ eyes have been opened to this truth: The mainstream media has not been doing its job, and its coverage has been one-sided, to the serious detriment of our democracy.

I would like to believe that this is a watershed moment in the self-reflection of the mainstream media, but I have my doubts.

A mainstream media mea culpa is easy. It just needs to admit that it has been blinded by Trump derangement syndrome. Reporting the truth came second to reporting lies about Trump. Further, it must acknowledge that it became a mouthpiece for the Democrat Party and White House, thereby abdicating its responsibility as the Fourth Estate.

Most importantly, it must admit that it lied to the American people on many occasions. That admission needs to be followed by an apology.

If the mainstream media works to end its bias against half of the American body politic and, once again, speaks “truth to power,” our democracy will be better off for it, of that I am certain.

Bill Jones

Southampton