THE GRAY LADY

NY Times Boss Defends Covering Biden’s Age ‘Fully and Fairly’

The paper’s publisher claimed the White House is “extremely upset” with the paper’s coverage of Biden’s age—but that it won’t deter the Times from covering it.

The White House is “extremely upset” with The New York Times’ coverage of President Joe Biden’s advanced age, the paper’s publisher claimed Monday in an interview with the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. “We are going to continue to report fully and fairly, not just on Donald Trump but also on President Joe Biden,” Times boss A.G. Sulzberger explained while answering a question about how to cover a decidedly authoritarian candidate like Trump. “[Biden] is a historically unpopular incumbent and the oldest man to ever hold this office. We’ve reported on both of those realities extensively, and the White House has been extremely upset about it,” he added before clarifying that “We are not saying that [Biden’s age] is the same as Trump’s five court cases or that they are even. They are different. But they are both true, and the public needs to know both those things. And if you are hyping up one side or downplaying the other, no side has a reason to trust you in the long run.”