The Biden Administration continued its unravelling last week. In several polls, it slipped into the 30s. The network’s evening newscasts do their best to shield the President from any responsibility regarding the numerous crises that threaten his presidency. Millions of American parents are currently facing a shortage in baby formula.
Media Research Center NewsBusters analysts reviewed every news story that covered a baby formula shortage since they first started to cover it on a regular basis. For ABC and NBC it was May 9. CBS was on May 10 for both ABC and NBC.
We found that of 54 stories about the formula crisis on evening newscasts, just 10 mentioned blame for or culpability of the Biden administration. All 44 others did not.
ABC’s World News TonightThe 22 stories that were submitted had the highest number of readers: total 22, However, only 17 of them offered any blame to Biden, and three suggested that there could be some responsibility on the part of President Obama. This is the CBS Evening News There were 17 stories in total. By comparison, only three stories had blamed more than fourteen. Finally, Nightly NewsThe shortage was covered in 15 stories. Eleven stories without any mention of blame, and four that suggested that Biden might be to blame for the problems in this country.
Instead, ABC’s World News TonightThe CBS Evening News And the NBC Nightly News Biden was seen as proactive and taking decisive actions to end the crisis. The May 18 NBC Nightly News, Lester Holt trumpeted, “Breaking news tonight, the major move by President Biden to tackle the nationwide baby formula shortage.” This is despite the fact that Biden’s FDA didn’t move to increase foreign imports of baby formula from abroad until mid-May.
As USA Today noted on May 26, “The problem was apparent months ago, long before the White House appeared to kick into high gear to respond to the crisis.”
The May 13th World News Tonight, Mary Bruce touted, “The White House stepping in, giving families that rely on government assistance more flexibility to purchase any brands available, taking steps to import more formula and cracking down on price gouging.” On the May 18 CBS Evening News, Norah O’Donnell promoted:
Let’s start tonight by sharing some news. Tonight, we have the President announcing fresh actions to alleviate the crisis of infant formula. Two major steps are involved. First, to help with supply chain issues, President Biden is invoking the Defense Production Act to get ingredients to manufacturers….Biden is now directing his administration to use government planes to go overseas and bring formula home.
Biden was mostly criticized on evening newscasts. The 22nd of May CBS Evening NewsRepublicans were not allowed to move. Reporter Christina Ruffini mildly noted, “The White House is facing criticism that it didn’t act fast enough” to combat the shortage. On June 1, anchor Norah O’Donnell stated, “President Biden admitted today that he didn’t know how serious the shortage was until April.”
ABC was similarly lenient in May. It wasn’t until June 1 that World News Tonight anchor David Muir bothered to ask: “Would the President of the United States have been able to see this sooner?” On that day, reporter Mary Bruce admitted “the White House is really struggling to explain” the shortage.
NBC suggested that May was at most culpable. Reporter Kate Snow on May 18 allowed that “the White House [was] sharply criticized by members of its own party.” It was the June 1st Nightly News that finally showcased the seeming incoherence of Biden’s handling of the baby formula shortage.
JO LING KENT – Tonight’s President Biden acknowledged that he didn’t know anything about the crisis in formula for the past two months after the closing of an Abbott manufacturing facility in Michigan.
JOE BIDEN – I was aware about this issue sometime after April and early April. It was quite intense.
KENT: However, he was just moments away from meeting top manufacturers.
MURRAY KESSLER, Perrigo CEO: This was a serious situation that we knew right from the beginning. This was something we could have predicted.
KAITLAN COLLINS [To Biden]: Didn’t those CEOs just tell you that they understood it would have a very big impact?
BIDEN But I didn’t.
Who was to blame? The FDA and baby formula supplier Abbott were also under investigation. The May 22nd, NBC Nightly News reporter Jo Ling Kent vaguely (and generically) wondered, “Did the government drop the ball here?” (That was not counted as a Biden blame mention in our study.)
Whether one thinks it’s fair to blame the Biden administration for the shortage, we know that the Trump administration (and Republican presidents in general) don’t get the benefit of the doubt on things like this. As I stated in the May 24, 2022 NewsBusters study, journalists did not want to place blame on Biden because of skyrocketing gasoline prices.
Afghanistan, inflation and gas prices. When it comes to network reporting, nothing seems to be Joe Biden’s fault. The American public clearly don’t agree with this assessment, but the press is doing its best to cover for the President.
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