Internet mocks Joe Biden after TJ Ducklo calls out MSNBC and CNN for missing president's Philadelphia rally

WASHINGTON, DC: President Joe Biden's reelection campaign chastised MSNBC and CNN for missing "Black Voters for Biden-Harris" rally held in Philadelphia on Wednesday, May 29, asserting that the stations were preoccupied with covering the historic New York v Trump trial. 

Biden pledged to appoint progressives to the Supreme Court if he wins a second term at a rally held on the first day of jury deliberations in former president Trump's criminal trial in New York. Even though the news cycle has been dominated by Trump's historic trial for weeks, at least one member of the Biden campaign staff believed that MSNBC and CNN ought to have cut away to show the current president's remarks. 

What did Joe Biden's campaign spokesperson TJ Ducklo say?

"The President just spoke to approx 1,000 mostly Black voters in Philly about the massive stakes in this election. @MSNBC @CNN & others did not show it. Instead, more coverage about a trial that impacts one person: Trump," Biden campaign spokesperson TJ Ducklo posted on X. Ducklo added, "Then they'll ask, why isn't your message getting out?"

TJ Ducklo further elaborated his statement 

"Media organizations have a duty to make sure Americans know that if Donald Trump regains power, he'd take his extreme abortion bans even further, weaponize the DOJ against American citizens, construct detention camps and oversee mass deportations, increase costs on Americans’ health care, prescription drugs, and housing – while gutting their hard-earned Social Security and Medicare benefits. So yeah -- when it's not being covered, folks are going to hear from us," Ducklo told Fox News. 

Many on social media questioned why the Biden campaign wouldn't want attention on his presumed opponent's trial after the initial social media post raised eyebrows. Columnist Eddie Scarry joked, "LOL Biden team went from ‘get his a--, media, he's a criminal!’ to ‘why are you worried about this criminal?’"

The remarks made by Biden, which were not broadcast live by MSNBC or CNN, highlighted the stakes in the upcoming election for conservatives who have celebrated their six-three majority on the court in recent years, and progressives, who have denounced historic decisions that have expanded gun rights and ended federal protections for abortion.

President Joe Biden's 'Black Voters for Biden-Harris' rally

President Joe Biden took a strong stance against his opponent and former president Donald Trump on Wednesday, May 29, while he and vice-president Kamala Harris courted Black voters at a rally in Philadelphia. During his speech, Biden listed his accomplishments and connected them to Black voters.

"Because Black Americans voted, Kamala and I are president and vice president of the United States. Because of you. That's not hyperbole," Biden told a crowd gathered at Girard College, a majority Black boarding school for first grade through 12th grade, as per ABC News. "Because you voted, Donald Trump is defeated former president. And with your vote -- with your vote in 2024, we're gonna make Donald Trump a loser again," he added.

Joe Biden touted his accomplishments while delivering speech

During his speech, Biden emphasized his achievements which include a low unemployment rate, reduced prescription drug costs, and the forgiveness of student debt. However, this time, he also mentioned the benefit to Black voters.

"Supreme Court blocked me from relieving student debt, but it didn't stop me. So far, I've relieved student debt for nearly five million Americans, a significant number are Black borrowers," Biden said, adding "So, you can chase your dreams, start a family, by your first home, start a business and so much more."

Black voters' support for Biden is down significantly from his share of the vote in 2020, according to a recent ABC News/Ipsos poll. Of them, 74% say they currently support the president while 87% said they voted for him in the previous election.

Donald Trump has made attempts to directly court Black voters

The likely Republican nominee, Donald Trump, has made an effort to actively court Black voters. He's held prearranged photo ops at fast food restaurants, held a rally in the predominantly Black and Brown South Bronx, New York, last week, and suggested that his criminal indictment will help him connect with Black voters—a move that Biden's team called "blatantly racist" earlier this year.

Biden recycled some of his attack lines against Trump, hitting the former president for calling the "insurrectionists who stormed the capital 'patriots'" and saying he would pardon them.

"Let me ask you: What do you think he would have done on January 6 if Black Americans had stormed it? Think about this. What do you think would've happened if Black Americans had stormed the Capitol? I don't think he'd be talking about pardons," Biden said, echoing what he said in Detroit earlier this month.

Joe Biden hammered Donald Trump during the rally

The Biden campaign released an advertisement highlighting Trump's involvement in the Central Park Five case, which he mentioned in the rally. "The same guy who still calls the Central Park Five 'guilty,' even though they were exonerated," Biden said about the five men wrongfully convicted in the 1989 rape of a Central Park jogger.

Biden hammered Trump saying he wouldn't say "Black Lives Matter," and "evokes Neo-Nazi third-Reich terms" -- a reference to a social media video on Trump's account that referenced the phrase "Unified Reich." 

After his detractors pointed out that the phrase resembled that of Nazi Germany, Trump deleted the post. The Trump campaign asserted that it was an unrelated internet video that a staff member who failed to notice the wording randomly reposted rather than a campaign clip.

Biden on Wednesday, May 29, also slammed Trump as being antithetical to American ideals.

"And I'll be damned if I'm going to let Donald Trump be the reason we stop being Americans," Biden said to cheers. "I'll be damned if I'm going to let Donald Trump -- we're not going to let Donald Trump turn America into a place that doesn't believe in honesty, decency and treating people with respect. And I'll be damned if I'm gonna let Donald Trump turn America into a place filled with anger and resentment and hate," he added.

Netizens make a mockery of Joe Biden's Philadelphia rally

Internet users poked fun at the president's Philadelphia campaign with one tweeting, "There were 30 people there and half of them were staffer… Nobody cares." Another asked, "You mean the half-empty gym where Joey held his excellent 'Takin' back the black!' adventure?" "Well, get a few more people & maybe you can get coverage...," advised one. 

One user mocked, "All 12 people at the Biden rally are outraged" while another chimed in, "So desperate to get re-elected." "You could cover Bidens rallies with a Polaroid camera," tweeted one user. 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.