CNN Mostly Quiet on Biden’s Tumble After Reveling in Trump’s 2020 Descent Down a Ramp

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CNN appeared to provide just one reference on Friday to President Joe Biden’s stumble during his effort to board Air Force One earlier in the day.
“Earlier in the day, as he left Washington on a windy morning, Biden struggled to find his footing as he climbed the stairs of Air Force One, prompting a White House spokeswoman to say he’s 100 percent fine,” reporter Jeff Zeleny said as part of a brief report for Jake Tapper’s 4 p.m. program. “Arriving in Atlanta, he held the handrail, and left the plane with ease,” Zeleny assured viewers.
The omission contrasted starkly with the network’s focus on former President Donald Trump’s descent down a ramp at West Point last year, which he traversed slowly due to “slippery” conditions. Biden mocked Trump for the incident at the time, saying, “Look at how he steps and look at how I step. Watch how I run up ramps and he stumbles down ramps. Come on.”
CNN’s Alisyn Camerota joined in during a segment with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. “There are some questions this morning about President Trump’s health,” Camerota said. “Maybe he just has a hard time going down a gently sloping ramp, but do you see something, possibly neurological, that could be throwing off his balance?”
CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on Trump at West Point: “There are some questions this morning about President Trump’s health…[M]aybe he just has a hard time going down a gently sloping ramp, but do you see something, possibly neurological that could be throwing off his balance?” pic.twitter.com/hz39lPESZ2
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 19, 2021
“Trump continues to claim Joe Biden doesn’t have the stamina to serve as president,” the network’s Jim Acosta said. “But Biden is jabbing back, pointing to Mr. Trump’s slow dissent down a ramp at a West Point commencement earlier this year.”
CNN’s Kevin Liptak authored a story about the incident, titled, “Trump defends cautious walk down ramp, which raised questions about his health,” though the story failed to name any experts who had indeed raised such questions.
The network’s Chris Cillizza piled on in a segment with host Brianna Keilar. “His birthday was on Sunday — he’s the oldest person ever elected to a first term as president,” Cillizza said, noting a record presently held by Biden. “Donald Trump — whether it’s Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton — makes the mental and physical health of his Democratic opponents an issue. He did it today, he said that Joe Biden is ‘shot’ and ‘weak.’ That’s when I think, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”
You bet CNN’s Chris Cillizza was all up in arms over Trump’s West Point visit, telling Brianna Keilar that it was a big deal and a big concern because “Trump is 74 years old” and “we know so little about” his “past medical history” pic.twitter.com/ZtIet6eaqH
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 19, 2021
Videos of the network’s commentators opining on Trump in the past were shared on Twitter on Friday by Newsbusters’ Curtis Houck.
Watch above via Twitter.
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