Jonathan Lemire in The Atlantic argued that President Donald Trump is not getting the tough media scrutiny over age and stamina that Joe Biden faced, and that contrast has many conservatives calling out a double standard. The piece names Trump and Biden directly, quotes Lemire and reactions from figures like Davis Ingle, Tim Graham, Ian Miller, Stephen Miller, and Derek Hunter, and touches on moments ranging from a G-7 summit clip to Joe Scarborough’s on-air remarks.
In The Atlantic, Lemire opens by noting how old Trump was when he took office and how that compared to his predecessor. “When Donald Trump took the oath of office last January, he was the oldest president to begin a term, clocking in at 78 years and 220 days,” Jonathan Lemire began his article titled “A Different Kind of Fading President.” He followed that by pointing to Biden as the previous holder of that distinction and how concerns about Biden’s age once shaped the conversation.
Lemire argues the tone has shifted even as Trump ages and slows down in some ways. “But as Trump himself grows older—traveling less, switching to more comfortable shoes, and seeming to nod off during meetings—his age isn’t getting the same kind of scrutiny.” The Atlantic writer points to behavior changes and reduced travel as reasons for renewed questions, but says those questions are not arriving with the same intensity they did for Biden.
The piece also revisits how Biden’s staff handled early reporting and pushback, which Lemire says tamped down attention for a while. He notes that Biden’s team “chided” reporters who raised alarms, and that initial skepticism about the story’s importance came partly from that White House resistance. For a time, Lemire writes, Democrats and some journalists treated concerns about Biden’s age as a partisan talking point rather than an issue to be pursued aggressively.
Lemire recounts the turning point in public attention to Biden’s fitness, tying it to a memorable debate performance. “But then Biden’s deficiencies burst into the open with his faltering, confused performance in a general-election debate that was followed by a wave of recriminations and finger-pointing that continues among Democrats and journalists to this day.” That moment, Lemire suggests, forced a re-evaluation of earlier choices by the press and by Biden’s own camp.
Critics on the right seized on Lemire’s column as validation of long-held complaints about media bias. In a statement with Fox News Digital, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle defended President Trump and called out the legacy press directly. “President Trump’s sharpness, unmatched energy, and historic accessibility stand in stark contrast to what we saw during the last administration when Democrats and the legacy media intentionally covered up Joe Biden’s serious mental and physical decline from the American people,” Davis Ingle said.
Conservative commentators piled on, saying the media gave Biden a pass and later changed course only when it was politically convenient. “Left out of the Left’s shameless ‘Trump is losing it’ shtick is that Trump grants the media access CONSTANTLY. The Left wants to punish him for it. They were never punished for hidin’ Biden. Well, unless you count Trump winning again,” Newsbusters executive editor Tim Graham wrote. Outkick’s Ian Miller added, “What scrutiny did Biden get for his age? Every time people brought up videos of his obvious, rapid mental decline, the media called it ‘cheap fakes’ or conspiracy theories. It wasn’t until the debate happened that they knew he would lose the election and decided to force him out.” Those lines underline a belief that coverage was selective and strategic.
Other critics pointed to on-air moments and to political theater as evidence the press chose narratives instead of pursuing facts. “Jonathan Lemire was sitting on set when Joe Scarborough looked directly into a camera and said ‘I’m about to tell you the truth, and F you if you can’t handle the truth. This is the best version of Biden ever.’ That was in March of 2024. Joe Biden would be out of the race 3 months later. This isn’t going to work,” conservative commentator Stephen Miller wrote. Radio host Derek Hunter added a snarky take: “What color do you think the sky is on their planet?”
Lemire’s piece also recalls past disputes over viral clips and mainstream reaction, including his own criticism of coverage that dismissed concerning Biden footage. He pointed to the New York Post’s June 2024 reporting and to a Morning Joe segment where staff labeled those clips “cheap fakes.” “That’s the problem here that the Biden campaign but also those of us in the media are going to have to grapple with between now and November because the speed of these fakes only is increasing,” Lemire said, warning that digital distortion complicates honest reporting.
The debate now on the right is less about who is older and more about whether the press applies the same standards to leaders of both parties. Conservatives argue the legacy media treated Biden gently and switched tones when it suited them, and they say similar soft treatment should not be happening for Trump. Expect this argument over standards and access to stay loud and political as both camps square off over how fitness and age are covered going forward.
