Wall Street Journal reporter defends Biden article amid blowback

Wall Street Journal reporter Siobhan Hughes doubled down on her article about President Biden’s mental acuity following blowback from the White House.

The news outlet published a report Wednesday headlined “Behind Closed Doors, Biden Shows Signs of Slipping” that recounted the president’s performance in private meetings. The report was quickly met with criticism from White House officials and Democrats, many of them pointing to how the story cited accounts from many Republicans.

Hughes, a congressional reporter at The Wall Street Journal, was one of the two writers on the article. She defended the piece on “CNN News Central” Wednesday when pressed on what “signs of slipping” means for Biden.

“The picture that’s being painted here is one of a president who, behind closed doors, is very much the same as what you see in public, somebody who has good days, good moments, but also bad days and bad moments,” she said.

She also responded to criticism from Democrats who said that the story was slanted because it included many quotes from Republicans, like former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). The Journal reported that McCarthy said Biden was “not the same person” as he was as vice president.

“So, we heard from administration officials that McCarthy did say that the president was sharp in meetings. Our reporting also suggested that McCarthy was doing that tactically because he had to get along with President Biden at a time when the country was really at risk of a debt default if there was not some type of a deal,” Hughes said.

“So, you can take that for what it’s worth. You can decide McCarthy is not credible or that he is, but that’s what our reporting showed,” she added.

She also encouraged people to read the article first before criticizing it. 

“Democrats feel the piece is slanted, and I would encourage folks to get away from the politics of this. And before we jump to a conclusion about motivation or slant, read the story and look at what the facts say and you decide for yourself,” she said.