White House criticizes NY Post over Biden ‘freeze’ accusation.

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates has accused the New York Post, among other right-wing media outlets, of misleading their readers by misrepresenting a video of President Joe Biden supposedly “freezing” at a Los Angeles fundraiser.

Conservative outlets circulated a clip of Biden waving and then standing calmly for a moment as he basked in the applause at a gala featuring stars like George Clooney, Julia Roberts, and Barbra Streisand on Saturday. Former President Barack Obama was seen briefly grabbing Biden’s hand and exchanging words with him before the two walked off the stage, with Obama’s hand on Biden’s shoulder.

The Post claimed that the current president “appeared to freeze up” and “had to be led offstage” by Obama.

Just last week, conservative media shared an edited clip of Biden sitting down at a D-Day ceremony, falsely alleging that he was attempting to sit in a non-existent chair. The Post also published a piece dubbing Biden the “Meander in Chief,” insinuating that he had wandered away from a skydiving display when, in reality, he was moving towards a parachute rigger.

On Sunday, Bates condemned conservative media for perpetuating a similar narrative as the competition between Biden and former President Donald Trump intensifies, especially with their first debate just a little over a week away.

“Fresh off being fact-checked by at least 6 mainstream outlets for spreading lies about @POTUS with cheap fakes, Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post is once again disrespecting its readers & itself,” Bates criticized in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Their ethical standards could definitely use some thawing out.”

Bates drew parallels between the tabloid’s headline and those of publications like the Daily Mail and the Russian news agency Tass, which also used similar “freezing” language in their coverage of the incident. He suggested that they all seemed to have received the same misleading memo.

While both candidates have had their fair share of slips on the campaign trail, polls suggest that many voters perceive Biden to be more mentally fragile than Trump. This perception may have prompted Bates’ extensive response following the L.A. event, which raised over $30 million for Biden. The gala even featured talk show host Jimmy Kimmel interviewing Biden and Obama.