Drudge hits ‘mute’ on Biden

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Politico

The Drudge Report made its name by making life hell for Democrats in the White House.

But over the past several months, the website, named after its infamous and enigmatic founder MATT DRUDGE, has continued the surprising trend that emerged during the 2020 presidential campaign: Taking a relatively muted editorial stance on JOE BIDEN.

Readers who visited Drudge on the morning of Dec. 10, found a patriotic graphic of Biden splashed against an American flag leading the site. Headlines on that day touted the “lowest jobless claims in 50 years,” “Biden delivering fastest recovery in history?” and quotes from CNBC host JIM CRAMER saying the economy was the “strongest I’ve ever seen.” On Dec. 21, the site linked to a report about former President DONALD TRUMP’s relationship with convicted sex offender JEFFREY EPSTEIN while promoting a story about Biden’s new dog and the record-setting pace at which Biden was confirming judicial appointees.

“I’ve noticed this change,” said TRACY SEFL, the Democratic operative who served as the HILLARY CLINTON 2008 campaign’s Drudge envoy. “But to be honest, it is only after I’m asked about it.”

Drudge isn’t a Biden cheerleader. There are still plenty of stories on the site that cast the president in a negative light. Opinion polls reflecting negatively on the president or members of his administration, including Vice President KAMALA HARRIS, regularly get top billing.

The site has also blasted Biden’s vaccine mandates (one headline on a vaccine booster story from November asked, “Will It Ever End!”). The conservative media recluse also has not spared Biden from his focus on the health of aging political figures: The president’s physical health and public bouts of coughing tend to get splashed across the top of the page.

But the site’s relative disinterest in the president is notable. The news aggregator didn’t mention Biden by name in any link on the site on Friday morning even as he described the jobs numbers as missing expectations. It was at least the second time in the past month that Drudge didn’t have any links directly mentioning the president, according to a West Wing Playbook review.

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And, many former readers are ignoring Drudge in return.

[Valin]

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