Thread by @dancluchey

For whatever it’s worth — probably nothing — I spent a decent amount of time in close proximity to Pres. Biden before leaving the White House in the fall of ‘22.  That included dozens of trips, early AM and late night meetings, some pretty grueling days, etc.  Never once… (1/7)

… did I see anything portending a performance as rough as last week’s.  I saw a POTUS who was focused & sharp — w/ old-dude idiosyncrasies, sure, but definitively with it. No moments that concerned me. You don’t have to believe me, but if it helps: I swear my life on it. (2/7)

Granted, I don’t know him nearly as well as countless others, and I’m 20-odd months removed from the job. But my firsthand experience was more than enough to make me (a) extremely surprised by the debate and (b) assume it to be an aberration. (3/7)

What has stunned me the most (not the ferocity of the press pile-on as Trump’s obvious, express intent to destroy the country continues to go wildly underreported — I expected that) has been the group of reporters who have giddily and obsessively used this moment to… (4/7)

… slander White House staffers as “liars,” “gaslighters,” & more, as if the debate was proof of some nefarious scheme to hoodwink the nation for years, and not, you know, a very surprising, unusually bad night. These reporters are cherry-picking shreds of gossip at best… (5/7)

… and making shit up at worst. Some have openly loathed Biden for years, & are salivating at the chance to torch his team. It’s ugly and wrong — but more gravely, it’s a massive failure of journalism at a moment when America desperately needs them to act like grown-ups (6/7)

… rather than petty, gossipy vengeance-seekers. There are legitimate questions here that POTUS must address head-on. But we are doomed either way if our political press can’t demonstrate the clarity and capacity to do *their* job, too. (7/7)