One day after President Biden implored the media to not treat the 2024 election like business as usual, ABC's George Stephanopoulos sternly told his audience on Sunday's "This Week" that this year was abnormal and a "test" for the media and the country.
In contrast with the show's usual style, Stephanopoulos began the program with remarks on former President Trump's legal troubles and how the 2024 election was testing the tenets of democracy. This followed Biden calling on members of the press to focus less on horse race politics and "rise up to the seriousness of the moment," in a sober conclusion to his speech at the White House correspondents' dinner on Saturday.
"Until now, no American president had ever faced a criminal trial," Stephanopoulos said. "No American president had ever faced a criminal indictment for retaining and concealing classified documents. No American president had ever faced a federal indictment or a state indictment for trying to overturn an election, or been named an unindicted co-conspirator in two other states for the same crime. No American president has faced hundreds of millions of dollars in fines for business fraud, defamation, and sexual abuse," Stephanopoulos began.
Stephanopoulos argued this election was not normal, and that it was easy for everyone to treat it as an ordinary race for the presidency when the "scale of the abnormality is so staggering."
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"It’s all too easy to fall into reflexive habits, to treat this as a normal campaign, where both sides embrace the rule of law, where both sides are dedicated to a debate based on facts and the peaceful transfer of power. But that is not what’s happening this election year. Those bedrock tenets of democracy are being tested in a way we haven’t seen since the Civil War. It’s a test for the candidates, for those of us in the media, and for all of us as citizens," Stephanopoulos said.
There was no indication that Stephanopoulos' remarks weren't coincidental, however. An ABC News spokesperson didn't respond to request for comment on whether the anchor's editorial was related to Biden's admonition.
Biden highlighted Trump's rhetoric while addressing the press, and said the biggest question facing Americans in this election was whether democracy was "still the sacred cause of America."
"The defeated former president has made no secret of his attack on our democracy. He has said he wants to be a ‘dictator on day one,’ and so much more," Biden said. "He tells supporters he is their ‘revenge’ and ‘retribution.’ When in God’s name have you heard another president say something like that? And he promised a ‘bloodbath’ when he loses again. We have to take this seriously."
He also told the press to focus on the high stakes of this presidential race, Fox News Digital reported.
"Move past the horse race numbers and the 'gotcha' moments and the distractions and the sideshows that have come to dominate and sensationalize our politics, and focus on what’s actually at stake," Biden said. "I think in your hearts, you know what's at stake. The stakes couldn’t be higher."
Biden added that every member of the media had "serious roles to play" in making sure democracy endures.
The president, who has taken heat from the New York Times and other news outlets for avoiding serious interviews, sat for a rare live chat on Friday with radio host Howard Stern. Biden told Stern he was "happy" to debate Trump this year after previously hedging on the subject.
