It’s hard to believe at times, but it’s only been a little over a month since Joe Biden took office. During that time, he’s signed a stack of executive orders that have resulted in everything from exploding gas prices to a surge of illegal immigration at the border, never mind his bombing of Syria.

Of course, when Biden took office, the media were jubilant. When it came to transparency, we were assured that things were going to be different even though the Trump administration was, in actuality, incredibly transparent. CNN’s chyron blared “how refreshing” about new Press Secretary Jen Psaki, while journalists everywhere proclaimed that honesty had returned to the White House.

In reality, we got this.

NEW: Five weeks into office, Biden has fallen short of his former boss, Barack Obama, on transparency in several areas, and is under pressure to do more to restore confidence in the federal government following Trump’s chaotic term in the White House. https://t.co/ZTYaNKeT0k

— Anita Kumar (@anitakumar01) March 1, 2021

As my brother-in-law is fond of saying, it sucks to suck. The news media fluffed Biden in unimaginable ways, making the bed they now have to lie in. You see, when you give a politician a pass on everything, do no investigative reporting on him, and essentially worship at his feet to defeat the orange man, that politician will not respect you when the time comes to press him on an issue. Biden feels completely comfortable snubbing the press, and they have no one to blame but themselves.

Jen Psaki was asked about this issue today. Her response only drove home how much contempt the administration has for a news media that already does their bidding.

I asked @PressSec why the White House hasn't released virtual visitor logs. Isn't that important for transparency? Wouldn't it be easy? @PressSec: "He's meeting with members of the Senate virtually today. There, I've released it for you. What else would you like to know?" https://t.co/UIcTfEJFwW

— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) March 1, 2021

How thin-skinned does one have to be to respond that way when there’s essentially no opposition at all in the press to deal with? Psaki is terrible at her job, but it doesn’t matter because she has no need to actually be good at her job. She can throw the talking points out there knowing they’ll be dutifully repeated.

Regardless, we can speculate that this is more than just Biden having no respect for the journalistic establishment. Biden won’t release his virtual schedules, he hasn’t done a presser since taking office, and he hasn’t even been seen in public since Friday. What’s that say to you? Perhaps the lack of transparency is a necessity given Biden’s probable condition? I think that’s the real explanation here. As I wrote last weekend, Joe Biden is only getting worse, and it’s going to get harder and harder for his handlers to cover it up (see Joe Biden Speaks in Houston, What Follows Should Make You Question Everything).

The press could have held Biden’s feet to the fire. Instead, they cheered censorship and any questioning of the now-president all throughout the 2020 campaign. They shouldn’t act surprised or aggrieved now that their chickens are coming home to roost. Help support a mentally flailing geriatric who famously disrespects reporters and you get what you get.