The White House is sending out its operatives to push the establishment media into presenting the Biden administration’s frightful economic news more positively, CNN’s Brian Stelter and Oliver Darcy reported Monday.
Joe Biden, the presidential candidate who benefitted from the establishment media and Twitter censoring negative news about, is now reportedly asking top lieutenants at CNN to “reshape” economic news to be more favorable.
There has been plenty of bad news on the economy in recent weeks, creating a major challenge for the Biden administration. On Tuesday, the Department of Labor said that labor unit productivity crashed at the worst rate since 1960. Last Friday, the Labor Department announced nonfarm payroll growth that was less than half of what economists expected. This Friday, the government will release the Consumer Price Index for November. It is expected to show prices rising 6.8 percent, the fastest pace of inflation since 1982. Real wages have been declining because wage increases have not kept up with inflation.
The establishment media’s news coverage of economic developments such as these has reportedly angered the White House, which “has been working behind the scenes trying to reshape coverage in its favor,” the CNN employees revealed in a newsletter.
The White House is reportedly arguing that the “country’s economy is in much better shape than it was last year.” Unemployment has fallen dramatically over that time, although fewer workers have returned to the labor force than economists expected. Even the end of enhanced unemployment benefits, which paid out-of-work Americans an additional $600 to $300 a month, did less to prompt workers to return to jobs than expected. The economy currently has over 10 million job vacancies.
Among those at the White House reportedly “briefing” journalists to twist news coverage towards Biden’s taste are NEC Deputy Directors David Kamin, Bharat Ramamurti, Ports Envoy, and John Porcari — all heavy hitters inside Washington, DC, politics.
For the media’s part, news organizations have reportedly been receptive towards the White House’s direction. “I’m told the conversations have been productive, with anchors and reporters and producers getting to talk with the officials…” the CNN employees indicated.
Efforts to create a more positive spin in the establishment media may be less effective at shaping public opinion than the White House hopes. American families are suffering from Biden’s economic policies that have raised inflation to a thirty-year high and created a supply chain crisis.
With Christmas just around the corner, prices of computers, toys, clothing, and televisions could be 17 percent more expensive than last year.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø