'Hideously unnatural’: Social media debates over Biden, Trump’s age; Neera Tanden, Nate Silver clash

A heated discussion erupted on social media on Thursday over media coverage of the ages of former US president Joe Biden and president Donald Trump, involving Neera Tanden, former White House official.It started when journalist Aaron Rupar quoted fellow reporter Olivia Nuzzi, who described Trump as “vibrant, alive” and Biden as “hideously unnatural,” suggesting bias in how the two leaders are portrayed.Author Nate Silver responded sarcastically, saying that many Americans see Biden as old was a fact, not media bias, and criticised Nuzzi’s reporting. "Was there a rupture in the space-time continuum where the debate never happened? Nuzzi is a disaster but amazing there's still an effort to attribute the perception held by 80%+ of Americans that Biden was old to media bias instead of the fact that Biden was, in fact, old," Silver wrote.Neera Tanden, former White House official, joined the debate, pointing out that Trump himself is old and even fell asleep during a live press conference in the Oval Office. She argued that Trump’s visible decline was being ignored in media coverage, while Biden’s age was endlessly discussed.She wrote: "You know there's this guy... I don't know if you've heard of him. His name is Trump and he happens to be the president now. He's pretty old and he fell asleep in the Oval Office during a press conference.."Silver fired back, saying Tanden and others contributed to the perception that Biden was fit to run while downplaying Trump’s age and behaviour."You know there's this guy... I don't know if you've heard of him. His name is Trump and he happens to be president now. He's pretty old and he got elected partly because people like you gaslighted the Democratic Party into declaring Biden fit to run for another term," Silver said.Biden faced heavy opposition and media scrutiny over his age and health, especially after a weak presidential debate performance in June 2024. Trump questioned whether his aides tried to hide signs of cognitive decline by using an autopen to replicate his signature.