Hero to Zero: Biden revered as ‘George Washington’ for dropping out, but media turned on him after Harris loss

Prominent media figures leaped to praise President Biden for withdrawing from his re-election campaign during the summer. However, after Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeat by President-elect Donald Trump, much of that goodwill evaporated.

While Biden had been characterized as a sacrificial hero on the level of America’s first president, George Washington, by multiple commentators and celebrities, the post-election hangover revealed the 46th president as a "tragic" figure, whose delay in handing off the reins to Harris doomed her already-limited campaign. 

"The most tragic figure in American politics in my lifetime is President Biden," Democratic strategist James Carville said during an episode of his web show following Trump’s win.

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This characterization of Biden is a far cry from the praise and adulation Biden had been given just a couple of months prior, in July, when he announced that he would no longer be seeking re-election. 

Hollywood figures lavished Biden with praise for the announcement. Contrary to Carville’s assessment that Biden is a historically tragic figure, actress and singer Barbra Streisand predicted that he would be a historically celebrated one.

"Joe Biden will go down in history as a man who accomplished significant achievements in his 4-year term. We should be grateful for his upholding of our democracy," she wrote.

Star Wars actor Mark Hamill said at the time that Biden had a "record of accomplishments unmatched by any president in our lifetime."

"I want to honor our President Joe Biden. He has served our nation admirably for decades, he is a decent honorable man, a hugely successful president, and a patriot. Now let us unite behind Kamala Harris and defeat Donald Trump in November," liberal Star Trek actor George Takei said upon hearing the news.

Then came the comparisons of Biden to one of the most celebrated figures in American history, George Washington, who refused a third term as president in 1796. 

Actor George Clooney, who penned a New York Times essay calling on Biden to step aside in July, called the president’s move the "most selfless thing that anyone’s done since George Washington" while talking to reporters in September. "What should be remembered is the selfless act of someone who — you know, it’s very hard to let go of power. We know that. We’ve seen it all around the world."

Members of the news media made the same comparison days after Biden's announcement. 

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"If you cannot appreciate the dignity, the grace, the selflessness, the patriotism of that speech – akin to Washington's farewell – but instead feel compelled to denigrate him, nitpick or return to petty partisan politics I pity you," Washington Post columnist Jen Rubin wrote in late July. "You're denying yourself the majesty, the inspiration of America and of a great president. Go self-reflect."

MSNBC host Joy Reid gushed over the president’s move, stating, "This was selfless on a level, I think, that's important in a way that we talk about George Washington being selfless."

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough read from a guest essay by historian Jon Meacham that was published on Monday in The New York Times. 

"His decision is one of the most remarkable acts of leadership in our history, an act of self-sacrifice that places him in the company of George Washington, who also stepped away from the presidency," Meacham wrote.

"This moment puts [Biden], you know, with a bunch of American greats, the sort of George Washingtons of the world. He's stepping away from power. If he stays in that lane, I think that will be so much powerful and impactful," CNN host Abby Philip said.

However, once Biden lost, the knives came out for him from major media players.

Among them was Biden biographer and The Atlantic staff writer Franklin Foer, who blamed Biden for Trump’s win in a brutal Atlantic article two days after the election.

"Joe Biden cannot escape the fact that his four years in office paved the way for the return of Donald Trump. This is his legacy. Everything else is an asterisk," he wrote.

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Carville argued a month after Election Day that Biden had been reduced to a tragic historical figure because he waited about a year too long to give up re-election. 

"But the different scenario would be, if he would have – in September of 2023 or August – said that he wasn’t going to run… we would have won this election. And it wouldn’t have been that close, because we’d have had so many freaking talented people that were running," he said. "And he would be sitting here right now, getting ready to leave on a high note. There would be naming commissions to figure out what we're going to name after him. He would be the toast of Washington." 

Despite admitting his love for Biden, CNN senior political analyst Van Jones blamed the president for the party’s loss during the Dealbook Summit last week. 

"I love Joe Biden. Joe Biden picked me out of the puppy pile and gave me a chance to work with you guys, I love him, he should have walked away and let other people in this party step up to the bat, he didn’t, and we paid the price," he said.

The Hill opinion contributor Matt Lewis blamed Biden for Harris’ loss, writing a column for the outlet that stated, "President Biden’s decision to seek reelection drastically shortened that window, leaving Harris with little time to redefine her record or reframe her positions. Worse, she inherited much of Biden’s political baggage — issues so significant and acutely felt they may have been insurmountable."

AFP News reporter Danny Kemp published a piece following Trump’s win, headlined, "Biden's Legacy In Ruins After Trump Triumph." In the article, he assessed Biden’s role in Harris’ loss, stating, "The 81-year-old's pride made him resist growing concerns about his age, health and mental acuity until it was too late, and a disastrous debate against Trump forced him to drop his bid for a second term barely three months before Election Day."