During the first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the demise was realized possibly by the first commercial break. I am not referring to the Joe Biden campaign; our national media complex took a broadside hit to its already listing credibility. 

It was around the midway point of the Biden-Trump meetup when the growling began. Kasie Hunt, from CNN, delivered one of the early signs of severe trouble. Ms. Hunt indicated she was hearing grave rumblings, not from randos on social media but from her sources inside the party.

The voice, open-mouthed look, and visual contrast between President Biden and former President Trump all have Democrats I'm talking to nearly beside themselves watching this debate

— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) June 28, 2024

That note was delivered barely halfway through the debate, built with comments received much earlier. Hunt is clearly a left-leaning partisan (evidenced by the way Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt was chased off her show earlier in the week), so for her to give oxygen to Democrat Party anxiety, and at that stage, was deeply revealing. Then we got to the post-debate panels, and by that point, this mindset had become cemented.

On CNN, their panel of experts all appeared as if a concussion grenade had gone off seconds before going live. They were collectively stunned at the display of President Biden, and this was for good reason. That network had done just about all it could to benefit Biden for Thursday’s matchup, from rigged debate protocols to compliant moderators, as well as Dana Bash trying to goad Trump by calling him “ex-President.” There was even something long suspected that was revealed – Erin Burnett let it slip that Biden likely knew the questions ahead of time. Despite all concessions, Biden looked that horrendous mere minutes into the proceedings. 

At MSNBC, their gathered Algonquin brain trust was no better, with wan excuses made early in the aftermath that quickly were forgotten; Biden had a cold, he was “overprepared,” and it made him flustered while answering, the American public expects a super-hero in the White House, and even desperate comparisons to FDR in a wheelchair were attempted. Nicolle Wallace, possibly the most sycophantic of Biden bootlickers, was uttering the very words about replacing Biden, words which she had previously charged others with being democracy-threatening conspiracy nutters. Joy Reid attested that she was texting left-wing power brokers during the debate, and the word she used to describe the collective reaction was — “panic.”

JOY REID:

"My phone never really stopped buzzing throughout. The universal reaction was...approaching panic!" pic.twitter.com/KNRAeb2S1s

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 28, 2024

It probably was not ten minutes into the affair before Joe Biden’s appearance and performance essentially sunk his chances at retaining office, but he delivered something else. This debate performance has become the MOAB for the media.

Look across the journalism landscape, from the cable news “experts” to the furiously scribbling elitist class desperate to get out in front of the journalism exodus, to the peacocking pundits in their social media accounts, and you see stark sobriety on the assessment of Biden’s implosion. Even Chuck Todd was reduced to an admission that what those dastardly Republicans had been saying all along was on display at the debate podium. 

All of these voices in the media today are in defiance of the very same media voices yesterday. What was witnessed Thursday night confirmed everything the press denied — for weeks, for months, and for the past four-plus years. The journalists currently declaring Biden’s condition was blatant and needing to be addressed were just days ago bleating that this exact same video evidence was fake. 

People noting the videos of Biden’s decrepitude were branded as liars and trafficking in “cheap fake” propaganda. Thursday night was a 90-minute presentation of “cheap fake” evidence, except it was live, uncut, unedited, properly framed, not “taken out of context,” or devoid of any other excuse journalists spat out to describe fully accurate presentations. Chuck Todd, unintentionally, admitted to this being the case.

At the end of the day, Joe Biden looks like the caricature that conservative media has been painting. And there were no clips tonight, right, this was - you saw it before your eyes.

What Chuck just did in this quote is prove out all of the media prevarications. They told us these descriptions of Biden were a caricature. They claimed the videos of his decline were manipulated and misrepresentations. It was entirely a slander campaign concocted by conservative media. All of that – all of it – was a complete lie told by the press corps.

The press was engaged in a full-scale effort to tell us accurate information was “fraudulent.” We were mocked for daring to believe our lying eyes, but Thursday night obliterated their ruse. No longer are the media wizards able to deliver a smoke and brimstone distraction, and they have all become entirely exposed as a result. An already damaged credibility for the journalism industry has experienced a massive hull breach, and they will sink the rest of this year, at minimum.

Throughout May and June, we had the press agreeing to band together and deliver falsehoods on the condition of Joe Biden. We were told he was a mental titan. Experts insisted in private he was vibrant and had an intimidating intellect. On the international stage, he mystified world leaders with his charismatic leadership. His wisdom makes opponents wither due to an encompassing empirical knowledge of all topics. This was based on insistence, not anything seen.

Interesting thing – none of these wondrous qualities ever managed to seep into his public persona. Somehow, this beguiling behavior that left people in wonderment during meetings and private moments was never captured on video. The press kept telling us Biden was a force of nature, yet their cameras only betrayed a man who cannot walk with a natural gait.

The consuming lie agreed upon by our journalism industry has been laid bare. These people who lorded with unearned condescension and told us how wrong we had been to note the obvious are today voicing the exact same things they previously judged to be taboo. It has been a matter of days – just days – and they have swung 180 degrees out of phase on this narrative. Last week’s “Don’t you DARE” has become today’s “Well, something obviously must be done.” 

From. The. Exact. Same. Journalists.

Any pundit, reporter, journalist, or media figure who is admitting to Biden’s condition or even giving audience to his removal after insisting he was in magnificent shape deserves rebuke. Any who even simply ignored what was obvious should be discounted today. Not only are they compromised as journalists, they are not serious minds. These people who announce what is misinformation by decree have been exposed now as rampant liars. 

Today is a watershed moment for the press. Across the media landscape, there are crippled forms of once-regarded names strewn about, left desperate to spin their way out of explaining the contradictory positions they are now abandoned upon. Look to those who have been consistent on these matters. Those saying the same things today that they said at the start of the year are the solid minds worthy of listening.

Going forward, use this debate epilogue as a litmus test for any journalist. Their behavior now has been fully exposed. What has long been known is today made evident, and they can no longer pretend otherwise. Hold them accountable.