Politics
White House slams Fox reporter for questioning Biden’s age
By Jake Beardslee · November 27, 2023
In brief…
- Reporter asked Biden if he was too old to run for reelection while on vacation in Nantucket
- Biden responded simply "That's stupid" to the question
- Aides criticized the reporter for seeming to perpetuate criticisms of Biden's fitness rather than objective reporting
Last weekend during the president’s vacation in Nantucket, Fox News correspondent Lucas Tomlinson shouted a question at Biden regarding his age and reelection plans. “Mr. President are you too old to be running for reelection?” Tomlinson asked. Biden simply responded “That’s stupid.”
However, it was Tomlinson’s own reporting of the incident that drew criticism from the White House. In his segment on “Fox News Sunday,” Tomlinson included audio of himself shouting the question at Biden, but “failed to note” that it was him asking, according to White House aides.
After the report aired, Andrew Bates, a presidential aide, mocked Tomlinson on social media, questioning “whose voice that is shouting?” while hinting it sounded like the reporter. Other White House staffers shared stories criticizing Tomlinson for “astroturfing a political attack” by not disclosing it was his own question.
The tense relationship between Fox News and the Biden administration is well documented. Recent polls have shown public concern about the president’s age, though Biden often faces shouted questions from various media outlets.
In criticizing Tomlinson’s line of questioning and omission, the White House seemed to imply the report was intended to perpetuate criticisms of Biden’s fitness for office, rather than objective journalism. The exchange highlighted ongoing clashes between the Biden White House and Fox News coverage.