Right-wing commentators are aggressively propagating speculative claims about Biden before the impending debate.
For years, and especially over the past couple of months, MAGA Media has portrayed Biden as an aged, mentally impaired individual who can't recall his breakfast, let alone manage the federal government. This perspective, though it may seem excessive to those who don't follow Fox News or listen to conservative talk radio, has been a constant theme in the right-wing media sphere.
To bolster this image, these outlets and personalities have seized upon Biden's verbal slip-ups (while ignoring Trump's) and manipulated edited video clips to their large audiences - a deceptive but effective approach that the Biden campaign has found difficult to effectively counter.
Thursday's high-profile political showdown presents a significant opportunity. The debate, set to be one of the most-watched events in the 2024 presidential campaign, will offer viewers from across the country the chance to witness an unscripted Biden squaring off against Trump for approximately 90 minutes. While the two will undoubtedly spar over a variety of topics, the debate offers Biden a chance to challenge the narrative that he's too mentally unfit to serve as commander-in-chief.
This is a source of concern for right-wing media figures, who risk having their baseless claims about Biden debunked in real-time. As right-wing personality Megyn Kelly stated on Monday, Biden will come out on top if he just avoids collapsing during the encounter with Trump.
“The stakes could not be lower for a Joe Biden performance,” Kelly remarked.
In preparation for the possibility that Biden might effortlessly walk on stage without assistance (which some in right-wing media had speculated required former President Barack Obama's help), Trump's media allies are already devising excuses. And they're growing noticeably frantic.
One such notion being pushed by Trump's media allies is the unfounded claim - lacking any evidence - that the president will be utilizing performance-enhancing supplements or drugs during the debate. This theory, also suggested after Biden's forceful State of the Union speech earlier this year, has been championed by Trump himself.
“He's sleeping now, so they can give him a boost,” Trump stated at a campaign rally over the weekend. “Before debate time, he'll receive an injection.”
This theory, as expected, has been eagerly embraced by Trump's media supporters, who overlook the fact that Trump frequently nodded off during the day at his own trial earlier this year in court. Fox News host Jesse Watters, for instance, indulged in it on Monday's episode of “The Five,” suggesting Biden will consume "jungle juice" before the debate to appear energetic.
MAGA Media has adopted a fall-back option to shield Trump if he underperforms: CNN. The biased pro-Trump forces, particularly the shameless propagandist Sean Hannity, have launched a barrage of attacks aimed at Jake Tapper, who will be co-moderating the debate alongside Dana Bash. Tapper, the aggressive anchor and CNN's lead Washington correspondent, has been labeled as a Democratic puppet. While it is an unfair accusation, it is one MAGA Media is eagerly propagating, even attempting to do so on CNN's own air.
On Monday morning, CNN anchor Kasie Hunt terminated an interview with Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, who continually criticized Tapper and Bash as "biased" news anchors. After kicking Leavitt off her program, Hunt observed that "if you're attacking the moderators, you're usually losing."
Hunt is, of course, correct. The conundrum, however, for MAGA Media is that they've painted themselves into a corner. Now, they're scrambling to find a way out – and they're getting increasingly desperate.
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In the realm of business negotiations, some media outlets have been promoting questionable strategies for Trump to maintain an edge in the debate. For instance, discussing potential use of performance-enhancing supplements or drugs during the debate has become a topic of discussion within these circles.
Despite the lack of concrete evidence, Trump's media allies have been promoting this theory widely, with Fox News host Jesse Watters suggesting Biden might consume "jungle juice" before the debate to appear energetic.
