Hours after CNN refuted a brand-new conservative media outlet’s “scoop” that President Joe Biden wants to sit down during next week’s debate with Donald Trump, Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro peddled the debunked claim on-air.
During the lead segment on Monday’s broadcast of The Five, the panel’s conservative hosts took aim at Biden for supposedly “freezing” up on stage during a glitzy Hollywood fundraiser with former President Barack Obama.
The White House hit back over the weekend at right-wing media outlets and Trumpworld for sharing deceptively edited clips of Biden meant to make him look cognitively challenged and addled, calling them “cheap fakes.”
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After her colleague Jesse Watters suggested that Democrats are looking at replacing Biden with Hillary Clinton if he bombs in next week’s debate, Pirro added that the president has been moving to change the already agreed-upon rules for the showdown.
“Even for the debate, as Jesse is saying, they’re going to be seated,” she exclaimed. “We don’t even get to see them walk in. They will be seated so that there is one less obstacle to worry about for Biden!”
While Pirro didn’t disclose where she had gotten this information, it would appear that she was referencing a tweet from The Washington Reporter, a brand new right-wing site that was founded by GOP operatives earlier this year.
“SCOOP: Per two sources, including one at CNN, the Biden Campaign is trying to renegotiate the debate rules to allow Biden to be seated,” the site posted on Monday. “This would be a major format change from what was agreed to.”
Feeding into growing concerns about Biden’s mental fitness and age, the tweet quickly went viral among conservatives, with several prominent GOP lawmakers sharing it. “He can’t stand for 90 minutes - but he’s 100% able to be President? Have fun explaining that,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) reacted on Monday afternoon.
CNN, which revealed on Saturday that the two candidates had already agreed to the debate’s parameters, soon shot down The Washington Reporter’s story. According to both CNN and The New York Times, Biden and Trump will appear at a uniform podium during the 90-minute debate, there will be no props or pre-written notes, and the broadcast will include two commercial breaks.
Semafor’s Max Tani first reported on Monday afternoon that a CNN spokesperson told him that the supposed scoop was “not accurate.” The network later provided a statement that there had been no proposed rule changes.
“CNN’s proposed format was to have both candidates stand and both sides agreed to the rules when they agreed to debate,” a CNN spokesperson told The Daily Beast.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Fox News for comment.
