We’ve seen multiple mass shootings in recent days; a racist oligarch continues his mission to destroy the country’s most effective public forum; and a massive global sporting event is masking human rights violations. But according to some White House reporters, the most important news story this week is that they weren’t invited to a party.
This weekend, Naomi Biden—granddaughter to President Joe Biden and daughter of the right-wing media’s #1 obsession Hunter Biden—got married on the South Lawn of the White House. Reporters were told no press was allowed, which seems completely reasonable, but some are apparently miffed that Vogue magazine was somehow able to release an exclusive profile of the event, complete with a lush wedding photo spread featuring Naomi and her “Nana” Jill Biden.
It’s been explained that the photo shoot did not actually take place the day of the wedding but was staged on a different day beforehand. But the damage to some reporters’ egos had already been done, with one going so far as to compare the “loophole” of a staged photoshoot to the tens of thousands of lies Donald Trump told during his presidency.
Even after getting ratioed into the sun, The Washington Post’s Ashley Parker offered a clarification that only really served to double down on justifying the comparison.
The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman—who has been endlessly criticized for spending years carrying water for the Trump administration—also piped in to back up Parker’s complaints.
“We cover the small lies politicians tell because they can give way to bigger ones, for folks wondering why this is news. That’s what the press is supposed to do,” Haberman wrote.
During the Trump administration, you might remember, there was an endless fuss over whether reporters could actually call Trump’s statements “lies,” since that indicates intent, which they could not always be sure of. Glad to see Haberman no longer cares about the distinction!
The question of this non-lie even came up during a White House press briefing Tuesday. “You said from the lectern that the wedding of Naomi Biden and Peter would be a private one and that it would be closed to the media,” one reporter felt compelled to say out loud. “Yet I’m reading all about it and looking at pictures on the Vogue website. Can you just talk us through what happened there?”
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre explained that the photo shoot was staged days before the wedding but also addressed the fact that this was not an event reporters should have ever expected an invitation to!
“This was not a national security meeting,” she said. “This was not an economic meeting, or economic summit. This was a young couple’s wedding with their friends and families. This is what this was. This is what happened here on Saturday.”
I wish that could be the end of this pointless non-scandal but I am 100% sure it won’t be.
(image: Adam Schultz/The White House via Getty Images)
Published: Nov 23, 2022 04:35 pm