Two presidents went to two very different events, and yet some newspapers seem determined to make them seem equivalent. The United Auto-Workers (UAW) are on strike, and President Biden recently visited the picket line and shook hands with the workers, a first for a sitting president.
Former President Trump, on the other hand, chose to speak at a “non-union” parts manufacturer and has accused UAW President Shawn Fain of not defending the workers who “are being sold down the river by their leadership.” (Of course he would use a loaded phrase like that with absolutely no introspection.) The solution he suggested was, of course, that they endorse him in his run for President (the UAW previously endorsed Biden in 2020).
Despite Trump undercutting the union and its workers at every turn, The Washington Post has chosen to portray this speech as Trump reaching out to and supporting the working class in the same way that Biden is—which, frankly, couldn’t be further from the truth. That’s how Trump wants to disingenuously spin the issue, not how a major newspaper should frame the story.
Biden met with the workers who were on strike, becoming the first sitting President to stand on the picket line with the workers. Though his interference in the railroad strike of 2022 has not been forgotten, his open support for the UAW is seen by many as a return to form for Biden, who has stated vocal support for unions throughout his political career.
But Trump specifically chose to speak at a non-union parts manufacturing plant, going out of his way to not stand with unionized workers, while also asking for their vote and trying to fear-monger about electric car manufacturing.
Thankfully, it appears that a lot of UAW workers are seeing through Trump’s thinly veiled attempt to court their vote. They are well aware of Trump’s long history of screwing over his workers and how he has often over-glorified his own role in keeping manufacturing jobs in the U.S.
Still, all of this is arguably another demonstration of how The Washington Post, despite being popular amongst liberals, is not a liberal newspaper. At the end of the day, The Washington Post is owned by one of the richest people on the planet, Jeff Bezos, and their attempts to appear “unbiased” often leads to a “both sides” mentality on issues where there aren’t two equally valid “sides.” The newspaper has previously run articles focusing on what E. Jean Carroll was wearing to her defamation trial against Trump or articles about how the government should “think twice” before taxing billionaires more.
To be fair, The Washington Post wasn’t the only news organization to cover Trump’s Michigan visit in this way. But the Post is still considered one of the top news organizations in the country and should be called out when they get the story this wrong.
(featured image: Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
