The mainstream media has largely ignored President Biden’s passing of responsibility on Covid-19 to individual states when he previously promised to use the federal government’s powers to combat the issue.
Biden had previously scolded former President Trump for the same move during the former president’s administration.
“Look, there is no federal solution. This gets solved on the state level,” Biden said while on a conference call with governors to discuss the pandemic.
The president also pointed out the long lines that have been seen across the U.S. over the holidays amidst the Omicron surge. “Seeing how tough it was for some folks to get a test this weekend shows that we have more work to do,” Biden declared.
Increasingly, vocal critics have noted that Biden promised that he had a plan to “get this virus under control” shortly before the 2020 election but now wants states to handle it for themselves.
The president has so far escaped criticism from the liberal-leaning media for flip-flopping.
Criticism ramps up
“This about-face has to be one of the more infuriating double standards of the pandemic. For months, the liberal media blasted President Trump as irresponsible for arguing states had any role of value in helping to wind down and/or defeat the pandemic,” said Curtis Houck, managing editor of NewsBusters.
“But now? It makes perfect sense in much the same way that the CDC has halved the quarantine period.”
“There’s zero shame or admission of guilt. If anything is referenced in terms of a change, you can bet the press will chalk it up to simply that they now know so much more about the virus and thus they were never inconsistent or partisan,” continued Houck.
“Of course, the American people will be able to tell the difference and know the truth in this clownish turn.”
Former President Trump targeted individual states with strict stay-at-home orders in April 2020. The New York Times stated at the time that Trump was “ceding any semblance of national leadership on the pandemic.”
The Times continued, writing that “by embracing the backlash to the coronavirus restrictions, Mr. Trump is tapping into a powerful well of political energy as he seeks re-election this year. The president is also trying to deflect anger about his response to the virus away from him and toward Democratic governors, who he hopes will shoulder the blame for keeping the restrictions in place and for any deaths that occur after states reopen.”
The New York Daily News also criticized Trump. One article was headlined: “Trump unveils ‘Opening Up America’ plan that punts coronavirus recovery to governors despite ‘total authority’ vow”
The article began, “When push comes to shove, President Trump would rather just pass the buck.”
In a published Politico report in November 2020, the headline read, “Trump administration leaves states to grapple with how to distribute scarce vaccines.” The article declared that the administration was “shunting” difficult decisions to states.
“You can bet the press will chalk it up to simply that they now know so much more about the virus, and thus they were never inconsistent or partisan,” Houck argues.
