The Media with Joe Biden

Democratic candidate Joe Biden received the open support of the media, except for Fox News and The New York Post, both owned by Rupert Murdoch.

Biden’s triumph was also the triumph of the American media and freedom of press, which had struggled with Donald Trump ever since the 2016 campaign, when they expressed their support for Hillary Clinton. This situation was accentuated in 2020 when all the important media showed open support for Biden, with the exception of Fox News, The New York Post (both owned by Rupert Murdoch) and some others. However, many have abandoned Trump this week and acknowledged Biden’s victory.

During his term, the current president of the United States constantly attacked the freedom of press and mocked journalists and the media. Although it did not reach the levels of some reactionary groups in Latin America or the former Soviet Union, Trump supporters would have loved it if Trump had created a state office in charge of deciding what is and is not true, or an Office for the Strategic Coordination of National Thought to guide the political, cultural and ideological activities of Americans and to prevent them from deviating into progressive behaviors.

With an egocentric view of the world, Trump did not tolerate that people disagree with him. He mistreated his collaborators, fired the secretary of defense for abiding by the Constitution and called Anthony Fauci, the most prominent American epidemiologist, a “disaster.” Trump is an authoritarian at home and in politics. He can get along with Recep Erdogan, participate in an international drama with Kim Jong Un and maintain friendly relations with other authoritarian leaders in Brazil, Russia and Ukraine. On the other hand, Democrats like institutions; their administration will be based on principles, and they will demand respect for democratic traditions and the freedom of press.

The freedom of press and the freedom of thought are at the core of the Digital Revolution, which promotes the freedom of individuals to imagine and create with complete autonomy. The epicenter of this revolution can be found in universities. These produce a huge amount of scientific and technical knowledge, which is then applied to reality to create wealth and welfare. Trump suffered major defeats in the cities where universities are stronger. For example, in California (where we can find Silicon Valley and Stanford University) and Massachusetts, Trump obtained less than half as many votes as Biden.

American universities, unlike ours, do not debate 19th-century doctrines or activist ideologies. These institutions use the scientific method to unravel reality, arrive at practical conclusions and change the world. Their debates are about improving and modernizing traditional industries, integrating the use of renewable energies, robotics and other elements of the Digital Revolution. The implementation of such innovations and the arrival of the Fourth Industrial Revolution entail infinite possibilities for progress, the end of poverty and scientific advancement.

In our countries, on the other hand, some politicians dream of contaminating the environment by bringing 19th-century factories back to life. They believe that big contemporary issues, such as life on the planet, discrimination and civil rights, belong to the realm of fiction. Instead of finding solutions, our politicians are more interested in keeping the poor in their state of poverty. This way, they can continue using them as an electoral base.

The most reactionary groups seem to want to go back to the Middle Ages: They want to stop the market and let the poor live happily in the countryside until kingdom come. The last attempt at this kind of dystopia had to be paid with the lives of 25% of Cambodia’s population. Some countries progress, while others go backward.