What follows is a near-pristine example of scene-setting designed to distract you from the dramaturgy that occurred on stage – the article even includes the clichéd invocation of Republicans’ sordid habit of seizing on events that reflect poorly on Democratic lawmakers. …

Between the Republican pouncing, the excuse-making, and the non-sequiturs designed to draw Donald Trump into a conversation in which he has no justifiable purpose other than to create the only favorable contrast from which Joe Biden can benefit, this Times report is an exquisite specimen. Even the headline – “Biden’s News Conference in Vietnam Ignites His Opponents” – is pitch-perfect. It belongs in a museum.

[This is the same Michael Shear ‘report’ that drew the barbed ire of Power Line’s Scott Johson. — Ed]