Former first lady Jill Biden has asserted that the media applies a double standard when covering the administrations of former President Joe Biden and current President Donald Trump, suggesting that her husband would have been “excoriated” for actions that are currently occurring in the White House.
During a June event promoting her memoir, "A View from the East Wing," Biden spoke with "The View" co-host Whoopi Goldberg about media coverage of the Biden presidency. When asked if the press covered her husband's term fairly, Biden initially hesitated before expressing a belief that, in hindsight, things could have been managed differently.
"You know, I think probably, well, I mean, seeing how things are now, I don't know. I don't know. I'd have to think about that," Biden told Goldberg. She added that her administration might have benefited from stronger outreach to the press to foster better understanding of them as individuals rather than "figureheads."
Biden directly addressed the perceived disparity in coverage, stating, "You know, if Joe would have done any one of the things that are occurring now, I mean he would have been excoriated." Goldberg responded with agreement, chuckling. Biden concluded her point by saying, "But, you know, it's just there — it's like there's a double standard. And that I don't think is fair or was fair."
Earlier in June, Biden also responded to criticism of her memoir from within the Democratic party. Some critics, including former Biden White House spokesman Andrew Bates, suggested that the book reopened painful political conversations unnecessarily. Biden defended her memoir, arguing that it contains only one chapter on politics and invited critics to voice their concerns directly to her.
"I want to say to Andrew: Call me up, and say it to my face, buddy," Biden said at a Washington, D.C., book event, according to the New York Post.