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Controversial journalist Taylor Lorenz lashed out at former President Joe Biden following news of his cancer diagnosis, saying “Hopefully he rots in hell and rests in piss.”
The former Washington Post and New York Times reporter lashed out on X on Monday, a day after the the ailing 82-year-old Biden revealed he was battling an aggressive form of prostate cancer.
Along with her vile social media post, Lorenz added a screenshot of a satirical 2019 Vice article bearing the headline: “Joe Biden: It Would Be an Insult to My Dead Son for Everyone to Have Healthcare.”
The article was originally published as a facetious critique of Biden’s healthcare stance during the 2020 Democratic primary.
It misrepresented remarks he made about preserving private insurance — remarks that were widely debated at the time, but never included the quote attributed in the headline. As Community Notes on X quickly clarified, “Biden never said the phrase used in the headline. The post is based on a satirical misrepresentation.”
The Biden campaign declined to comment on her remarks.
The pro-Palestinian scribe doubled down on her attack on Biden when contacted by The Post about her lack of compassion for the former president.
“Joe Biden is a war criminal who personally sanctioned the genocide of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians, including countless cancer patients,” Lorenz ranted on Tuesday.
She went on to claim that “Biden is responsible for at least nearly 1 million deaths from COVID and kicked millions, including cancer patients, off healthcare amidst a raging pandemic. He forced people back to work with no labor protections.”
“My sympathies will always lie with the innocent people Biden has killed and disabled, not the genocidal warmonger sanctioning their deaths,” she added.
Lorenz was pushed out by The Washington Post last year after misleading her editors about a separate incident involving Biden. Last August, she posted a selfie from a White House event to her Instagram story with the caption: “War criminal :(” while Biden appeared in the background.
When questioned, Lorenz initially denied posting the image before later admitting it, prompting internal disciplinary measures and contributing to her leaving the paper two months later.
She launched launched her own independent newsletter and has continued taking shots at Biden.
In April, she responded to a fake obituary-style post that falsely claimed Biden had died by writing, “This tweet got my hopes up :(”
The original post, which read “RIP Joe Biden 1942–2025. You were always a racist f–king monster, and will not be missed,” was clearly fabricated, but Lorenz’s reaction left little doubt about her personal sentiments.
Lorenz also drew scorn last December for seemingly cheering the assassination of of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
She said some Americans felt “joy” about the murder outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel. She later defended the remark by citing the denial of care by large insurance companies and her own experiences with chronic illness.
Lorenz has also said positive things about Thompson’s alleged killer Luigi Mangione, praising him as a “morally good man.”
In December, she was roundly criticized after saying that some Americans felt “joy” following the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, who was gunned down outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel by an assassin.
She later defended the remark by citing the denial of care by large insurance companies and her own experiences with chronic illness.
Lorenz has also said positive things about Thompson’s alleged killer Luigi Mangione, praising him as a “morally good man.”
Her employer at the time, Vox Media, distanced itself from her comments, and Lorenz later confirmed her podcast would no longer be distributed through the network — though she claimed it had always operated independently.
She also faced backlash for her 2022 reporting that revealed the identity of the woman behind the Libs of TikTok social media account, an article some accused of “doxxing.”
English (US)