Thanks, The Contrarian. As you can see, this is about much more than one book. It's about systemic problems plaguing the legacy media ecosystem, which I discuss and diagnose on the podcast and https://theystandcorrected.substack.com/ -- so much to discuss!
"As you can see, this is about much more than one book. It's about systemic problems plaguing the legacy media ecosystem..."
You're correct. Those "systemic problems" are also in the Democratic Party, other "independent" media outlets like The Contrarian, and all the people and groups who align themselves with the Left's ideology. The evidence was out there as early as the 2020 presidential race that Biden was going downhill mentally, and it only got worse. It's just that the Left and their followers were either too ignorant to notice or too blinded by their hatred of Trump. So they gave Biden (and his handlers) a pass until that fateful June debate.
The arrogance and hubris hasn't changed, even with all the revelations. Those who supported Biden and the coverup don't want to admit their failure, apologize or fix things so we don't go down this road again. No one will be held accountable. It's ironic that the staff and followers of The Contrarian who are allegedly all about "pro-democracy" were apparently okay with a committee of family members and advisers running the country instead of President Biden.
“He, his family, and his senior aides were so convinced that only he could beat Trump again, they lied to themselves..."
Here's what gets me: nobody knows what was in anyone's mind. Tapper doesn't know. The Axios guy doesn't know. Their "sources" don't know. I don't know. 352 pages of speculation is worth exactly what I will pay for it: zero.
Good - don't buy it! Like I said, if you're curious, get it from the library. They will of course sell a crazy number of copies. But it shouldn't be this way. Ugh.
You're right. And it's also possible that Biden was correct to think he had the best chance of beating Trump. He'd done it before. He was chosen in 2020 not because he was the best debater, (he wasn't), but because he was a straight white male who had been Obama's VP and had a good relationship with many Black leaders, and he was non-elitist Scranton Joe who appealed to blue collar whites ... and none of that had changed -- and American's bigotry and misogyny only gets worse as more years of Trump go by. Trump was a former President. That's rare in an election. That's a strong brand. The only thing stronger is being an incumbent President with a good track record. The media all condescended to Biden and raged at him for staying in the race. But they were happy to have him the previous January, when he gave a strong State of the Union. This man with life-long fluency issues had a bad night at the debate, and they got furious, and they've been irrationally furious at this good, strong US President ever since.
Since most of the sources for the book were anonymous, I have some trouble giving them credence. We all know Biden is an old man, but that doesn't make him senile. His debate performance was bad, but it's hard to argue against gross ignorance. He should probably have turned down running for a second term, but at the time he thought he could do it and felt an obligation to the country. I hate how much vilification he gets for doing what he thought was right at the time, and I applaud Kamala Harris for her strong campaign and her unfailing loyalty to him. He was a good president and should get the honor and respect that his performance deserve.
I hear you. And the heavy use of anonymous sources is another reason that there's nothing impressive about a book like this. People are always happy to point fingers after an election loss; more so in this case. Anonymity should be very rare in journalism, but it's overused these days.
I agree. Most of the time a sitting incumbent who is eligible to run again will run again. Biden was brave enough to be the exception even if it was too late. Harris ran an excellent campaign and was simply done in by the fact that the most popular network in terms of audience was a network that lied openly.
Yup - even that night, Trump said way, way more false things than Biden. No comparison. That was the irony. Biden's decline showed, but he was generally describing reality. Trump was describing an imaginary dystopia.
I stopped watching CNN and MSNBC long ago. They followed the Fox News path of ‘celebrity’ journalists (gag me on Wolf Blitzer) and the entire system became worthless for anything other than the sensationalized ‘breaking news’. When I saw Jake Tapper was writing on Biden but saying nothing about Trump’s obvious decline, it became obvious it is all about their own celebrity. Yuck.
Trump has definitely been out of touch with reality for a very long time, if not always, whether or not it's classified as cognitive decline! I've never seen anyone in public life lie that blatantly and extremely that often.
Trump truly does not think he is out of touch with reality because he is acting out the reality he was taught by this father—there can only be one winner—and so every day, he creates a world where only he wins. While we cringe as we watch him lie so often—he does not because for him—lying is a tool that ensures he wins and for him it is a smart move.
Trump has the moral development of a 9 year old. At that age, we believe the whole world should do what we want. Most of us growth out of that and mature. Trump did not. He was stunted as a child/taught by his father that the whole world should bend to them and so he thinks this is normal and good.
I love what Borowitz said about the author's mental decline. Writing about the wrong President. I asked myself the same question when I heard it was coming out. 🤷♀️
Just when I'm fully convinced the country has lost its collective mind, I read a feature like this and breathe a sigh of relief. Thank you. The media started to unravel when it got rid of the Dan Rathers of the industry for telling the truth.
Thanks! My experience with They Stand Corrected shows me every day that that there really is a community of people who care about truth. Lots of responses similar to yours -- a chance to realize that you're not alone. :) Feel free to join up over at https://theystandcorrected.substack.com/
I will take Biden ‘cognitively declining’ ANY DAY over the amoral Toddler-in-Chief currently occupying the Oval Office! Biden forgot more than Trump even learned — Trump is learning-impaired & a threat to the world.
What you and a lot of people are not covering is the possibility that Joe Biden is not, in fact, experiencing cognitive decline. Yes, he did badly at the debate -- as incumbent Presidents often do. Reagan, Dubya and Obama all blew their first debates as President, and each went on to do well in the next debate, and to win the election. Biden has always had trouble speaking, beyond his stutter, and he had a rotten headache and was woozy from a cold the night of the debate. For the three weeks that followed, all major media relentlessly pushed the false narrative that he was in decline. That was the headline of at least five articles and opinion pieces per day in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, the Atlantic, and so many other media ... and then, you'd read those interchangeable articles they all ran, over and over -- and there was no evidence. They'd make it sound like Biden's aides said he was in decline, but the aides would all be quoted saying President Biden was fine. From what I hear, this Tapper book is equally lacking in evidence. Groupthink is bad. Whether people are part of legacy media or not, they should hold themselves to higher journalistic standards.
They all ignore the real danger in the WH, and his and his minions' incredible lack of knowledge, skills, and cognitive capabilities, and focus on the guy who has retired, and will frankly pass on within a year. I just don't get it. Who profits from this trash? Not us, Americans, who pay the way for all of the profit people. Does this overthrow or negate the power of the Maga movement? Nope. Does it encourage the incompetents to follow the Constitution, and focus on actually running this country? Nope. All this does is make money for Tapper and company, for the MSM, while ignoring the real problem. Just sickening, so inept, and so unhelpful to the entire country. What's the point? Did Biden diss Tapper at some point? Did Tapper need to pay his mortgage? I just don't get it.
Pot calls kettle black. As a member of the public who does not hold a political office - just a citizen voter, I am dependent upon the press for information about politicians - local, state, national. I do not believe everything I hear or. read, I have no inside information. But I am old and have lived through the McCarthy era, Watergate, etc - of all the public liars. - Trump is by far the worst as he does it out of malice, stupidity and greed, Yes Biden was a very flawed candidate but compared to the present bunch of thieves, liars, and traitors - maybe mediocre. Do better - our Republic needs honesty - surprse us and be honest.
Corporate media has let us down. This is just a blatant example. Every day Trump says stupid, inappropriate stuff. Every day Trump uses his office for revenge, hate and profit. Every day the Trump regime damages our economy, history, global image, environment, and research. It is horrifying how he daily heaps cruelty, harm, and fear on a global scale.
Where is the book on how Trump lied throughout his campaign, especially his support for Project 2025, the economy, and for that matter, about all factual information.
I would take Biden over any people in the Trump regime.
Just a bunch of bottom feeders. Sickening. And we have a deranged psychopath in office who is criminally violating the law every darn day. Report on that
This book, which I will not buy, and probably not read, is "bait and switch" on steroids. For weeks Tapper's greed and poor journalism has distracted Joe public from the devastating and, prior to January 21, 2025, unthinkable outrages committed every minute by tRump. Moreover, this book is not journalism because it fails to cite sources. Anonymity is only credible if supports the "facts" alleged by a non-anonymous source. Standing alone, anonymity is fiction. It can be, at most, a novel, creative fiction, which would never have been published but for Jake Tapper's name as author.
The overuse of anonymous sources is plaguing journalism. Anonymity should be rare. I've discussed that on They Stand Corrected, and will discuss further next week!
Thanks, The Contrarian. As you can see, this is about much more than one book. It's about systemic problems plaguing the legacy media ecosystem, which I discuss and diagnose on the podcast and https://theystandcorrected.substack.com/ -- so much to discuss!
"As you can see, this is about much more than one book. It's about systemic problems plaguing the legacy media ecosystem..."
You're correct. Those "systemic problems" are also in the Democratic Party, other "independent" media outlets like The Contrarian, and all the people and groups who align themselves with the Left's ideology. The evidence was out there as early as the 2020 presidential race that Biden was going downhill mentally, and it only got worse. It's just that the Left and their followers were either too ignorant to notice or too blinded by their hatred of Trump. So they gave Biden (and his handlers) a pass until that fateful June debate.
The arrogance and hubris hasn't changed, even with all the revelations. Those who supported Biden and the coverup don't want to admit their failure, apologize or fix things so we don't go down this road again. No one will be held accountable. It's ironic that the staff and followers of The Contrarian who are allegedly all about "pro-democracy" were apparently okay with a committee of family members and advisers running the country instead of President Biden.
“He, his family, and his senior aides were so convinced that only he could beat Trump again, they lied to themselves..."
Here's what gets me: nobody knows what was in anyone's mind. Tapper doesn't know. The Axios guy doesn't know. Their "sources" don't know. I don't know. 352 pages of speculation is worth exactly what I will pay for it: zero.
Good - don't buy it! Like I said, if you're curious, get it from the library. They will of course sell a crazy number of copies. But it shouldn't be this way. Ugh.
Why would I be curious? I'm angry and disgusted. Bottom feeders.
You're right. And it's also possible that Biden was correct to think he had the best chance of beating Trump. He'd done it before. He was chosen in 2020 not because he was the best debater, (he wasn't), but because he was a straight white male who had been Obama's VP and had a good relationship with many Black leaders, and he was non-elitist Scranton Joe who appealed to blue collar whites ... and none of that had changed -- and American's bigotry and misogyny only gets worse as more years of Trump go by. Trump was a former President. That's rare in an election. That's a strong brand. The only thing stronger is being an incumbent President with a good track record. The media all condescended to Biden and raged at him for staying in the race. But they were happy to have him the previous January, when he gave a strong State of the Union. This man with life-long fluency issues had a bad night at the debate, and they got furious, and they've been irrationally furious at this good, strong US President ever since.
Since most of the sources for the book were anonymous, I have some trouble giving them credence. We all know Biden is an old man, but that doesn't make him senile. His debate performance was bad, but it's hard to argue against gross ignorance. He should probably have turned down running for a second term, but at the time he thought he could do it and felt an obligation to the country. I hate how much vilification he gets for doing what he thought was right at the time, and I applaud Kamala Harris for her strong campaign and her unfailing loyalty to him. He was a good president and should get the honor and respect that his performance deserve.
I hear you. And the heavy use of anonymous sources is another reason that there's nothing impressive about a book like this. People are always happy to point fingers after an election loss; more so in this case. Anonymity should be very rare in journalism, but it's overused these days.
I agree. Most of the time a sitting incumbent who is eligible to run again will run again. Biden was brave enough to be the exception even if it was too late. Harris ran an excellent campaign and was simply done in by the fact that the most popular network in terms of audience was a network that lied openly.
She was black and a woman. Like it or noy that is a problem in America.
Jake Tapper can go screw himself. That is how I feel. Blue voter from Michigan who is sick of all this looking back, what if, blame Biden bull pucky.
100%
Im so disgusted with Jake Tapper!
I do not plan to read the book. I watched the debate that night and one man didn't feel well and the other one lied continuously.
Time to leave President Biden alone!! I am keeping him and his family in my thoughts and prayers.
Yup - even that night, Trump said way, way more false things than Biden. No comparison. That was the irony. Biden's decline showed, but he was generally describing reality. Trump was describing an imaginary dystopia.
I stopped watching CNN and MSNBC long ago. They followed the Fox News path of ‘celebrity’ journalists (gag me on Wolf Blitzer) and the entire system became worthless for anything other than the sensationalized ‘breaking news’. When I saw Jake Tapper was writing on Biden but saying nothing about Trump’s obvious decline, it became obvious it is all about their own celebrity. Yuck.
Glad The Contrarian offers us another option.
Trump has definitely been out of touch with reality for a very long time, if not always, whether or not it's classified as cognitive decline! I've never seen anyone in public life lie that blatantly and extremely that often.
Trump truly does not think he is out of touch with reality because he is acting out the reality he was taught by this father—there can only be one winner—and so every day, he creates a world where only he wins. While we cringe as we watch him lie so often—he does not because for him—lying is a tool that ensures he wins and for him it is a smart move.
Trump has the moral development of a 9 year old. At that age, we believe the whole world should do what we want. Most of us growth out of that and mature. Trump did not. He was stunted as a child/taught by his father that the whole world should bend to them and so he thinks this is normal and good.
I love what Borowitz said about the author's mental decline. Writing about the wrong President. I asked myself the same question when I heard it was coming out. 🤷♀️
Ha! Yup as it stands now, I'm planning to mention Borowitz's headline in next week's episode of They Stand Corrected.
Just when I'm fully convinced the country has lost its collective mind, I read a feature like this and breathe a sigh of relief. Thank you. The media started to unravel when it got rid of the Dan Rathers of the industry for telling the truth.
Thanks! My experience with They Stand Corrected shows me every day that that there really is a community of people who care about truth. Lots of responses similar to yours -- a chance to realize that you're not alone. :) Feel free to join up over at https://theystandcorrected.substack.com/
"The media started to unravel when it got rid of the Dan Rathers of the industry for telling the truth."
"CBS Ousts Four Executives over 60 Minutes Controversy"
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/cbs-ousts-four-executives-over-60-minutes-controversy
I will take Biden ‘cognitively declining’ ANY DAY over the amoral Toddler-in-Chief currently occupying the Oval Office! Biden forgot more than Trump even learned — Trump is learning-impaired & a threat to the world.
Well put!
What you and a lot of people are not covering is the possibility that Joe Biden is not, in fact, experiencing cognitive decline. Yes, he did badly at the debate -- as incumbent Presidents often do. Reagan, Dubya and Obama all blew their first debates as President, and each went on to do well in the next debate, and to win the election. Biden has always had trouble speaking, beyond his stutter, and he had a rotten headache and was woozy from a cold the night of the debate. For the three weeks that followed, all major media relentlessly pushed the false narrative that he was in decline. That was the headline of at least five articles and opinion pieces per day in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, the Atlantic, and so many other media ... and then, you'd read those interchangeable articles they all ran, over and over -- and there was no evidence. They'd make it sound like Biden's aides said he was in decline, but the aides would all be quoted saying President Biden was fine. From what I hear, this Tapper book is equally lacking in evidence. Groupthink is bad. Whether people are part of legacy media or not, they should hold themselves to higher journalistic standards.
What really angers me about this book is that it plays right into the hands of the cult.
They all ignore the real danger in the WH, and his and his minions' incredible lack of knowledge, skills, and cognitive capabilities, and focus on the guy who has retired, and will frankly pass on within a year. I just don't get it. Who profits from this trash? Not us, Americans, who pay the way for all of the profit people. Does this overthrow or negate the power of the Maga movement? Nope. Does it encourage the incompetents to follow the Constitution, and focus on actually running this country? Nope. All this does is make money for Tapper and company, for the MSM, while ignoring the real problem. Just sickening, so inept, and so unhelpful to the entire country. What's the point? Did Biden diss Tapper at some point? Did Tapper need to pay his mortgage? I just don't get it.
I hear you. You might like this, and the episode that's embedded in it: https://theystandcorrected.substack.com/p/trump-storm-and-helicopters
Pot calls kettle black. As a member of the public who does not hold a political office - just a citizen voter, I am dependent upon the press for information about politicians - local, state, national. I do not believe everything I hear or. read, I have no inside information. But I am old and have lived through the McCarthy era, Watergate, etc - of all the public liars. - Trump is by far the worst as he does it out of malice, stupidity and greed, Yes Biden was a very flawed candidate but compared to the present bunch of thieves, liars, and traitors - maybe mediocre. Do better - our Republic needs honesty - surprse us and be honest.
Corporate media has let us down. This is just a blatant example. Every day Trump says stupid, inappropriate stuff. Every day Trump uses his office for revenge, hate and profit. Every day the Trump regime damages our economy, history, global image, environment, and research. It is horrifying how he daily heaps cruelty, harm, and fear on a global scale.
Where is the book on how Trump lied throughout his campaign, especially his support for Project 2025, the economy, and for that matter, about all factual information.
I would take Biden over any people in the Trump regime.
Just a bunch of bottom feeders. Sickening. And we have a deranged psychopath in office who is criminally violating the law every darn day. Report on that
This book, which I will not buy, and probably not read, is "bait and switch" on steroids. For weeks Tapper's greed and poor journalism has distracted Joe public from the devastating and, prior to January 21, 2025, unthinkable outrages committed every minute by tRump. Moreover, this book is not journalism because it fails to cite sources. Anonymity is only credible if supports the "facts" alleged by a non-anonymous source. Standing alone, anonymity is fiction. It can be, at most, a novel, creative fiction, which would never have been published but for Jake Tapper's name as author.
The overuse of anonymous sources is plaguing journalism. Anonymity should be rare. I've discussed that on They Stand Corrected, and will discuss further next week!