The hosts of Fox & Friends sat back and remained silent on Tuesday morning as right-wing radio host Tony Katz repeatedly ridiculed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s well-known stutter.
During an interview on President Donald Trump’s favorite morning show, co-host Ainsley Earhardt brought up the Commission on Presidential Debates’ decision to allow for the candidates’ microphones to be muted during Thursday’s presidential debate—a direct reaction to Trump’s repeated interruptions during the first debate.
After Katz, a frequent Fox News guest, said that this was a “miserable idea” and wondering aloud why they don’t just use “shock collars” while they’re at it, he then took aim at the former vice president and his speech impediment.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The bigger story here is that we are the ones that we don’t get to hear President Trump or Vice President Biden,” he declared. “They are going to hear each other. So now you have Vice President Biden with Donald Trump disagreeing with him or interrupting him possibly and all you will hear is a stuttering Vice President Joe Biden.”
“Haven’t we heard enough stuttering Vice President Joe Biden?” Katz continued with his mockery. “Is this really the imagery the Democratic Party wants to put out there? It’s a mistake on their part more than anything.”
Despite Katz having just made fun of the ex-veep’s stutter, the hosts ignored his comments. Instead, co-host Brian Kilmeade immediately joined in with Katz on blasting the debate commission’s decision.
“I also think it’s disrespectful for a future president or current president to be muted by some moderator or reporter at any time,” Kilmeade grumbled. “I think it’s a bad policy.”
Katz is just the latest conservative to openly mock Biden over his lifelong struggle with stammering, something the former vice president has spoken candidly about while offering advice to other stutterers.
Former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders apologized last year after taunting Biden for stuttering during a Democratic primary debate, claiming she was unaware of his speech impediment. And the president’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump also insisted she didn’t know the former vice president has a stutter after she was recently called out for poking fun at Biden’s speaking ability.
