Same as It Ever Was |

This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire.

In a world that seems to flip logic on its head, the left’s invocation of George Orwell as a seer of our times might just hold a kernel of truth. Our current landscape increasingly mirrors the bleak, manipulative world depicted in Orwell’s seminal works, “1984” and “Animal Farm.” Dominant entities across government, media, academia, and the corporate sector have morphed much of the news cycle into a vehicle of propaganda. Take the Biden administration, for instance: what they framed as a noble crusade for truth and freedom often turned out to be a veiled push for censorship and control. Truly Orwellian, indeed.

With Donald Trump resuming office, the narrative has shifted back to framing him and his supporters as a dire threat to our liberties. Yet, amidst this chaos, we are fortunate to exist in a society where many can pierce through the fog of deception. This brings to mind Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” which brilliantly illustrates the absurdity of serious discussions surrounding utter nonsense.

Indeed, tuning into the news sometimes feels akin to channeling our inner Elvis: give me a gun so I can shoot that TV.

A fresh example of this phenomenon is the extensive coverage surrounding Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s new book, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.” The authors claim that hundreds of insiders were aware of Biden’s unfitness to lead, yet this cabal decided to keep this knowledge under wraps until after the election. However, numerous polls indicated that millions of Americans were already in the know long before the election, and one didn’t need insider access—just a pair of eyes—to grasp the reality. While the book adds detail about the concerns over Biden’s capabilities, it largely confirms what many already suspected.

Moreover, “Original Sin” itself becomes an exercise in gaslighting; rather than illuminating the truth, it attempts to make the cover-up the focal point of the narrative. The pressing matter transcends mere concealment; it involves understanding which unelected officials wielded control in Biden’s name, how they justified their actions, and why major media outlets played along with this charade. Inverting the classic Watergate inquiry: What did the president not know, and when did he not know it? Furthermore, how was Biden’s health assessed within leading newsrooms, and who made the fateful decision to overlook these critical issues?

Addressing these questions and naming the key players should be the immediate priority for media outlets that have already seen their credibility erode due to partisan reporting. Yet rather than engaging in a moment of reckoning, it’s likely that the legacy media will utilize this book’s narrative to bury the Biden years, claiming that the essential questions have been posed and resolved. Expect them to use their newfound “insights” as a springboard to intensify their scrutiny of Trump, including probing his mental acuity.

If there is any lesson Democrats and their media allies have absorbed, it is that they can likely continue this charade without consequence. The Biden cover-up fits into a long-standing pattern of misleading the American public—despite overwhelming evidence—on crucial issues.

This includes propagating the unfounded claim that Trump colluded with Vladimir Putin to rig the 2016 election, dismissing legitimate concerns about the origins of COVID-19 at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and undermining the credibility of reports regarding Hunter Biden’s laptop, which revealed the Biden family’s questionable dealings. There was even the media frenzy surrounding the 2006 Duke lacrosse case, where young men were publicly vilified based on unverified accusations rather than solid evidence, perpetuating a narrative of privilege and guilt.

History shows that such media missteps rarely lead to introspection; instead, some even result in awards like Pulitzer Prizes. As we look ahead, it’s clear that we can expect more of the same: a relentless distortion of facts leading us into a fog of misinformation. As the aptly named band “Talking Heads” once observed: Same as it ever was, same as it ever was.

It’s enough to drive one to channel their inner Elvis.

This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.

J. Peder Zane is a RealClearInvestigations editor and columnist. He previously worked as a book review editor and book columnist for the News & Observer (Raleigh), where his writing won several national honors. Zane has also worked at the New York Times and taught writing at Duke University and Saint Augustine’s University.