On Friday night, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden got into a heated exchange with CBS News reporter Bo Erickson, who posted a video of the confrontation to Twitter .
“What is your response to The New York Post story about your son, sir?” Erickson asked.
Biden dismissed the allegations as a “smear campaign” and then slammed the reporter for asking the question.
“I know you’d ask it. I have no response, it’s another smear campaign, right up your alley, those are the questions you always ask.”
Erickson’s colleagues were quick to jump to his defense. In a tweet , CBS News White House Correspondent Paula Reid likened Biden to President Donald Trump — who frequently attacks members of the press — criticizing the Democrat for launching an ad hominem attack at Erickson.
NYT journalist Sopan Deb wrote that Erickson was just “doing his job,” noting that several reputable organizations have covered the allegations.
“It’s perfectly legitimate to ask Biden what his response is to the story,” he tweeted .
Democratic operatives and those supportive of the Democratic nominee slammed Erickson for daring to ask the question. In a tweet , head of the Center for American Progress Neera Tanden asserted, without evidence, that CBS News is pushing “Russian ops.”
Responding to Tanden, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept tweeted that “Dem Party hacks (and many of their media allies) genuinely believe it’s immoral to report on or even discuss stories that reflect poorly on Biden.”
“In reality, it’s the responsibility of journalists to ignore their vapid whining and ask about newsworthy stories,” he pointed out.
In the same thread, Greenwald noted that the Biden campaign does not dispute the authenticity of the documents published by The New York Post , arguing that members of the media should not be expected to simply ignore them to help the Democrat win the election.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , The New York Post ‘s article concerns Hunter Biden, the former vice president’s son. The publication received the documents from Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani , who allegedly got them from a computer repairman who had access to the younger Biden’s laptop. The documents allegedly prove that Biden sought to make lucrative deals with Ukrainian oligarchs by effectively selling access to his father. The outlet also received a trove of personal pictures and emails.
The report was quickly banned from several social media platforms, which sparked outrage. Twitter later reversed the decision.
Trump has long claimed that the Bidens are corrupt. At a Friday rally, he suggested that the entire family should be thrown in jail.
