If you were surprised by Joe Biden’s frailty and discombobulation Thursday night, the media is, on some level, to blame.
Our core job is to tell you what powerful people don’t want you to know. It’s impossible to avoid the conclusion that — scattered stories and open questions aside — the American press corps failed to penetrate this White House as it did the last one, and failed to provide an accurate portrait of the president.
Max, who covered this opaque White House for Politico before he got to Semafor, revisits those questions today, and speaks to Biden chroniclers Franklin Foer and Evan Osnos, who now argue that Biden seems to have deteriorated in recent months.
I’m curious what the sophisticated readers of the newsletter think, if only so I can sound smart on our special episode of Mixed Signals this week. What blame, if any, does the media bear for the Democratic Party’s crisis? Send us an email with your thoughts.