Mainstream Media Reporters Target Biden for Giving Polarizing Speech Flanked by US Marines

President Joe Biden received backlash from corporate news reporters on Thursday night after he delivered a polarizing campaign-style speech flanked by two U.S. Marines.

During the speech, the president attacked tens of millions of people who voted for former President Donald Trump, describing them as extremists.

“Whatever you think of this speech the military is supposed to be apolitical,” CNN host Brianna Keilar, whose husband serves in U.S. Army, wrote on Twitter. “Positioning Marines in uniform behind President Biden for a political speech flies in the face of that. It’s wrong when Democrats do it. It’s wrong when Republicans do it.”

CNN Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny wrote that “there’s nothing unusual or wrong with a President delivering a political speech — it’s inherent in the job description — but doing it against a backdrop of two Marines standing at attention and the Marine Band is a break with White House traditions.”

“The Marines behind Biden was weird,” ABC News producer Jeffrey Cook wrote. “If Trump did that, every Dem operative I follow would be freaking the [expletive] out.”

CBS News Senior White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe noted the unusual optics.

“Like or loathe what he said tonight, it should be noted: The president spoke tonight on the grounds of a national park, flanked by US Marines, and took direct, specific aim at his predecessor and members of the Republican Party,” he wrote. “Another thing we don’t see everyday.”

The White House on Thursday claimed that Biden’s speech would be optimistic and not political. However, Biden called on voters to unite against “MAGA Republicans” and Trump, alleging they are a threat to democracy.

Backdrop

Some Republicans and other commentators also criticized Biden for standing directly in front of a dark blood-red backdrop during his speech, and cropped photos of the

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