CNN’s media correspondent Brian Stelter is being accused of holding a “double standard” after President Joe Biden called Fox News’ Peter Doocy a “stupid son of a b****.”
Social media users resurfaced a 2018 tweet from Stelter blasting former President Donald Trump after he called a reporter a “son of a b****.”
Stelter apparently thinks Trump calling a journalist a son of a bitch exposed reporters to “threats and intimidation” but Biden doing it should just be dismissed as a mere “blip.” pic.twitter.com/OtimT8sdkU
— Jerry Dunleavy IV 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) January 24, 2022
Grave attack on press freedom. This is what the Nazis did: incited hatred against those who challenged them ("Lügenpresse"). Solidarity with Peter Doocy. It's a dangerous time to tell the truth in America. I hope all press freedom groups and other outlets will condemn this attack https://t.co/St0Q4MuvGO
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 24, 2022
Thank you, @BrianStelter, for showing solidarity for your fellow journalist and demonstrating you uphold your principles regardless of partis– oh, wait, this is from 2018:https://t.co/YgULnZIdR5
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 24, 2022
They’ll make @JoeBiden saying it as acceptable because Peter is evil, or something. https://t.co/jjmdVB3F7A
— Joey Jones (@Johnny_Joey) January 24, 2022
Steltler double standard: The rules don’t apply to Dems. Or to Fox. https://t.co/szpuNkTY3c
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 25, 2022
(How Refreshing) pic.twitter.com/qVWrUPFnW7
— Abigail Jackson 🇺🇸 (@abigailmarone) January 24, 2022
CNN's Brian Stelter declares in his newsletter this evening about the Biden-Doocy SOB incident, about a third of the way down – not the lead story:
— Daniel Chaitin (@danielchaitin7) January 25, 2022
"First, let's stipulate that this is not the most important thing that happened at the White House on Monday. Far from it."… pic.twitter.com/1GPeinsvZ9
https://twitter.com/thecjpearson/status/1485769700428636163
Can you show me where @brianstelter tweeted about how horrible it is that Biden called Doocy the same thing today? Do we have to wait for the misinformation dept at CNN to chime in? https://t.co/pLTjdqeRyk
— Joe Pags Pagliarulo (@JoeTalkShow) January 24, 2022
You absolute potato. https://t.co/yuAkoyjsNy
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) January 24, 2022
https://twitter.com/charlescwcooke/status/1485751922619568130
Interesting. I wonder if @cnn will cover this Biden calling a reporter a “stupid son of a bitch” story the same way they covered Trump doing it. https://t.co/jSeQm9vyyt
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) January 24, 2022
On Monday, Doocy asked Biden, “Will you take questions on inflation? Do you think inflation is a political liability in the midterms?”
“It’s a great asset,” Biden said with an apparent sarcastic tone. He added, “What a stupid son of a b****.”
Hours later, Doocy said that the president “called my cellphone and he said, ‘It’s nothing personal pal.’” He added that Biden “cleared the air,” and it was a “nice call.”
“I don’t need anybody to apologize to me. He can call me whatever he wants as long as it gets him talking,” Doocy said.
Stelter later tweeted, “This is from 2018. It’s still true. Biden was wrong to call Doocy an SOB. The press is right to hold presidents to high standards. Biden doesn’t berate the media like Trump, so the context for today is different, but it’s still out of line.”
This is from 2018. It's still true. Biden was wrong to call Doocy an SOB. The press is right to hold presidents to high standards. Biden doesn't berate the media like Trump, so the context for today is different, but it's still out of line https://t.co/RYiO4Nyg08
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 25, 2022
He also re-tweeted Politico’s Josh Gerstein, who argued Biden’s quip was different than Trump’s “dealings with the press.”
I am able to hold this thought in my brain while realistically appraising Trump's dealings with the press and the danger his 'enemy of the people' comments put reporters in at home and around the world. Civility is a good thing. That said, it was a pretty dumb question. https://t.co/nhxPGfh81q
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) January 25, 2022
Additionally, he shared a story about Doocy’s father, Steve Doocy, saying his son “took no offense to the insult.”
"Proud father Steve also confirmed that his son took no offense to the insult, saying he's a 'big boy.'" https://t.co/PGM8596F2x
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 25, 2022
During an appearance on CNN on Tuesday morning, Stelter noted, “You see the smile on Biden’s face.”
“I don’t think he’s surprised this was caught on mic. I think he knows what he was doing,” he continued.
Finally, Stelter said, “No matter who the president is, whether it was Donald Trump saying Chuck Todd was an S.O.B. or whether it’s President Biden saying…Peter Doocy is an S.O.B., it’s wrong. No matter what.”
“Presidents should be held to the highest standards. And so, in this case, Biden was out of line. I think he knew it because he called Doocy right away to say sorry and try to play as water under the bridge. It’s also not the biggest story in the world,” he added.
CNN's @brianstelter on Biden's "stupid SOB" moment yesterday: "It's wrong no matter what."
— The Recount (@therecount) January 25, 2022
But, he says, "It's also not the biggest story in the world. That's why I'm glad you didn't lead with it. It's not the most important thing in the world. We know Fox is gonna milk it." pic.twitter.com/FHW0c9fgio
Last week, Biden dismissed a question from Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich as “stupid.”