CNNâs Media correspondent Brian Stelter is being accused of holding a âdouble standardâ after President Joe Biden called Fox Newsâ Peter Doocy a âstupid son of a b****.â
Social Media users resurfaced a 2018 tweet from Stelter blasting former President Donald Trump after he called a reporter a âson of a b****.â
https://twitter.com/thecjpearson/status/1485769700428636163
https://twitter.com/charlescwcooke/status/1485751922619568130
On Monday, Doocy asked Biden, âWill you take questions on inflation? Do you think inflation is a political liability in the midterms?â
âItâs a great asset,â Biden said with an apparent sarcastic tone. He added, âWhat a stupid son of a b****.â
Hours later, Doocy said that the president âcalled my cellphone and he said, âItâs nothing personal pal.ââ He added that Biden âcleared the air,â and it was a ânice call.â
âI donât need anybody to apologize to me. He can call me whatever he wants as long as it gets him talking,â Doocy said.
Stelter later tweeted, âThis is from 2018. Itâs still true. Biden was wrong to call Doocy an SOB. The press is right to hold presidents to high standards. Biden doesnât berate the Media like Trump, so the context for today is different, but itâs still out of line.â
He also re-tweeted Politicoâs Josh Gerstein, who argued Bidenâs quip was different than Trumpâs âdealings with the press.â
Additionally, he shared a story about Doocyâs father, Steve Doocy, saying his son âtook no offense to the insult.â
During an appearance on CNN on Tuesday morning, Stelter noted, âYou see the smile on Bidenâs face.â
âI donât think heâs surprised this was caught on mic. I think he knows what he was doing,â he continued.
Finally, Stelter said, âNo matter who the president is, whether it was Donald Trump saying Chuck Todd was an S.O.B. or whether itâs President Biden sayingâŚPeter Doocy is an S.O.B., itâs wrong. No matter what.â
âPresidents should be held to the highest standards. And so, in this case, Biden was out of line. I think he knew it because he called Doocy right away to say sorry and try to play as water under the bridge. Itâs also not the biggest story in the world,â he added.
Last week, Biden dismissed a question from Fox Newsâ Jacqui Heinrich as âstupid.â
