Fox News host Jesse Watters has found an unusual new way to criticise Joe Biden – apparently he isn’t doing enough work.
Despite the US president working on the passage of a $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill and issuing a flurry of executive orders to overturn Trump-era policies in his first weeks in power, the right-wing commentator has claimed that Biden’s work schedule is failing to inspire people.
“The president hasn’t been working up a sweat. He calls lids early, he goes to bed early, he takes weekends off,” Watters said on his Fox News show.
“I see his schedule, it’s not inspiring.”
“He takes weekends off. I’ve seen his schedule, it’s not inspiring” https://t.co/wfLSLVdmaW— Acyn (@Acyn) 1615079296
Of course, this could be a perfectly legitimate criticism of Biden’s presidency so far but the claim reeks of hypocrisy when taken alongside Fox News staunch support of Donald Trump’s administration.
The former president was renowned for his ability to spend hours of his day watching right-wing news, taking part in Twitter feuds and playing rounds of golf, when he could have been working…
In fact, despite Trump’s claim that he worked more hours than other presidents, there was clear evidence to suggest that this wasn’t the case…
For example, CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller told CNN in May 2020 that Trump had spent all or part of 248 days at a golf course during his first term, compared to just 98 rounds of golf played by Barack Obama at the same point in his presidency.
Trump’s schedule was also known for containing large amounts of unstructured “executive time” – periods, generally between 6am and 11am, which his allies claimed involved undisclosed work, but which could have easily been filled with hours of TV news.
The irony of a Fox News host complaining about Biden’s work schedule following their support for the previous administration was not lost on many Twitter users:
Trump set records for golfing and this is what Fox News is covering https://t.co/X7RfBJjRMz— David Pakman (@David Pakman) 1615085489
He won't even golf. What a lazy President. Nothing like the last guy. Shame. https://t.co/SXqQWvcdpJ— I Smoked The GOPee's Seditious Conspiracy (@I Smoked The GOPee's Seditious Conspiracy) 1615099086
Trump sat in pajamas watching Fox in the morning, tweeting, drinking Diet Coke, tweeting, tweeting & tweeting. Late… https://t.co/NXWsInMqbf— Michelangelo Signorile (@Michelangelo Signorile) 1615079840
Trump watched TV 16 hours a day and spent a third of his days at his resorts. This is astounding even for Fox. https://t.co/nP6CLmpDKT— B𝛐red Ape Yacht CIubᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠ (@B𝛐red Ape Yacht CIubᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠ) 1615081281
@Acyn As opposed to schedules that look like this? https://t.co/0soj0gnoab— Sleuthy Kyle *Build Back Better* (@Sleuthy Kyle *Build Back Better*) 1615079489
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