Views: 2
Anumber of Donald Trump supporters are pushing unfounded claims and accusations of bias ahead of the first live 2024 presidential debate between the Republican and President Joe Biden, as MAGA is accused of going into panic mode.
Trump and Biden are set to face off against each other on Thursday, June 27, at the debate hosted by CNN at the network’s studio in Atlanta, Georgia.
Prior to the event, a number of MAGA supporters have been accused of panicking and being “intimidated” by the prospect of Biden outperforming Trump on Thursday, as well as pushing unfounded allegations to lay the groundwork to explain why the president might do well.
These include suggesting that Biden will be on “performance enhancing drugs” to help his energy during the 90-minute debate, and allegations CNN might have “leaked” questions to the president’s team.
The claims arrive as Trump himself changes his tune on how well Biden may perform at the CNN debate. Having previously called Biden the “worst debater I have ever faced,” Trump recently told the All-In Podcast that the president will be a “worthy debater” and that he does not want to “underestimate” Biden on Thursday.
Texas rep. Ronny Jackson is among those who have demanded that Biden take part in a drug test before and after Thursday’s debate.
Jackson, who served as Trump’s White House physician and medical adviser, also pushed the unsubstantiated claim that Biden took performance enhancing drugs to deliver the State of the Union address in March. Biden received high praise for the speech, which was seen as a pivotal moment in his reelection campaign.
“If President Biden needs to take performance enhancing drugs in order to participate in this week’s debate, then it is imperative that he and his physician disclose that to the American people,” Jackson said.
“Election Day is just around the corner, and voters deserve to have full transparency regarding the health of their Commander in Chief who is vying for this job for another term.”
A similar claim was previously made by former Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller. “What PEDs will Biden be taking for the debate? There is a reason Biden won’t agree to a drug test. Colossal doping scandal,” Miller posted on X, formerly Twitter.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates previously dismissed claims that Biden took drugs prior to his State of the Union speech.
“It’s telling that Republican officials are unable to stop announcing how intimidated they remain by [the] President’s State of the Union performance,” Bates told Politico.
The claims arrive as Biden has constantly faced criticism from Trump and his supporters about his proneness to gaffes while public speaking. MAGA supporters have also suggested that Biden is suffering from cognitive decline, and is not fit to run for office again.
Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrinch also described Biden as being “propped up by drugs” during a recent appearance on Fox News‘ Sean Hannity show.
Aaron Rupar, a reporter and frequent Trump critic, posted on X: “If you really thought Trump was going to wipe the floor with ‘Sleepy Joe,’ you wouldn’t spend the whole week before the debate smearing the moderator and preemptively accusing Biden of being on performance enhancing drugs.”
He’s not the only Trump opponent saying that Republicans are going into meltdown before the debate.
Republicans are in panic mode.
Seeing Trump becoming continually more incoherent leading up to the first debate has them scrambling to make excuses for Trump before the debate has even begun.
They’re claiming that Biden is taking performance enhancing drugs because they claimed…
— Jared Ryan Sears (@JaredRyanSears) June 24, 2024
Another, Jared Ryan Sears, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Republicans are in panic mode. Seeing Trump becoming continually more incoherent leading up to the first debate has them scrambling to make excuses for Trump before the debate has even begun.
Trump’s and Biden’s teams have been contacted for comment via email.
Elsewhere, Richard Grenell, who previously served acting director of national intelligence under Trump, also made an unsubstantiated claim that CNN may be helping Biden prior to the debate.
“CNN’s people leaked debate questions to Hillary Clinton in 2016,” Grenell posted on X. Grenell was making reference to previous reports on how former chair of the Democratic National Committee Donna Brazile gave notice to Clinton’s team about a debate question ahead of her 2016 debate with Trump.
Grenell goes on to ask if CNN anchor Kasie Hunt is “doing the same” for Biden. “She seems awfully aggressive about silencing criticism of the questioners.”
The post arrived after Hunt abruptly ended her interview with Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday after Leavitt criticized fellow CNN host Jake Tapper rather than answer a question about how Biden might perform at the debate.
“You come on my show, you respect my colleagues. Period,” Hunt posted on X in the wake of the interview. “I don’t care what side of the aisle you stand on, as my track record clearly shows.”
Responding to the incident, Leavitt told Newsweek: “CNN cutting off my microphone for bringing up a debate moderator’s history of anti-Trump lies just proves our point that President Trump will not be treated fairly in Thursday’s debate.
“Yet President Trump is still willing to go into this 3-1 fight to bring his winning message to the American people, and he will win.”
Steve Bannon, a top Trump ally, suggested that if CNN and Hunt do not apologize to Leavitt, then Trump should “cancel” his appearance.
While sharing a clip of Bannon’s remarks, Fred Wellman, host on the liberal MeidasTouch Network, wrote: “Ah…there it is!!!! They found their excuse! These people are so transparent!”