Donald Trump (and Fox News) are dog-whistling on Joe Biden
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Donald Trump (and Fox News) are dog-whistling on Joe Biden
Washington (CNN)For anyone who watches Fox News Channel, it's not at all surprising that its anchors and hosts (with few notable exceptions) talk up President Donald Trump while knocking down the Democrats running against him in 2020.
While that position puts Fox somewhere in the gray area between journalism and activism, it's not exactly new. There are ratings in partisanship -- so Fox News engages in partisanship.
But even partisanship should have its limits. And one of those limits should be raising entirely unfounded questions about a presidential candidate's health. Which is exactly what two Fox News personalities -- Kennedy and Sean Hannity -- have done, according to this terrific piece by the Daily Beast Justin Baragona:
"Since the end of May, Fox Business Network and Fox News star Lisa 'Kennedy' Montgomery and Fox News prime-time host Sean Hannity have speculated on-air, on at least four separate occasions, that the current Democratic presidential frontrunner is secretly dealing with health issues, often comparing his condition to illness-related conspiracy theories the network pushed about Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election."
Kennedy claimed that conversations among Democratic opposition-researchers all center on "you know there is something wrong with the former vice president." She offered no proof for this claim.
Hannity, Fox's biggest star, said this: "Joe Biden's tired. He does not have the energy for this. He's not up for this challenge. They're already hiding him like they hid Hillary. They don't want him out there."
Those baseless attacks echo how Trump attacked Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign. "She doesn't have the look," Trump said of Clinton in late September 2016. "She doesn't have the stamina, I said she doesn't have the stamina, and I don't believe she does have the stamina." (Trump's attack came two weeks after Clinton was caught on video shakily leaving a September 11 anniversary commemoration .)
Trump himself has hinted at similar themes in his early attacks on Biden, the current frontrunner for the 2020 Democratic nod. "Joe Biden got tongue tied over the weekend when he was unable to properly deliver a very simple line about his decision to run for President," Trump tweeted in March. "Get used to it, another low I.Q. individual!" And his nickname for Biden -- "Sleepy Joe" -- isn't accidental either.
The President kept up that dog-whistle drumbeat on Biden's health before heading to Iowa on Tuesday. "I think he's the weakest mentally," Trump said of Biden, adding: "I like running against people who are weak mentally."
Trump also said, without evidence, that Biden is "slower than he used to be."
These attacks clearly are designed to raise questions in voters' minds about electing Biden, who would be 78 on Inauguration Day 2021. That would make Biden the oldest president elected to a first term, breaking the record of -- you guessed it! -- Donald Trump, who was elected at age 70. Which makes the he's-too-old-to-do-the-job argument a little tin-eared.
The Point: Trump -- and his surrogates, including those at Fox -- showed they were willing to do anything and everything to get him elected in 2016. These baseless hits on Biden's health -- more than a year before the election -- suggest they'll be following that same blueprint again.
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I wonder if local Trumpsters will try and post fake news about Biden's health?
Do bears shit in the woods?
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Well we had "Clinton health" fake news seeded here from Infowars, Before It's News, Gateway Pundit, and other known fake news sites, including a fake letter from Clinton's "doctor" saying she was medically unable to be president, and videos purporting to be of her having a seizure and accompanied by an aide who carried some anti-epilepsy equipment. It was all fake.
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They are no problem. The only problem is that we are not allowed to respond to them in the way they deserve.
They wanted to motivate Trump voters and demoralize Democratic voters.
It worked in 2016. There is no reason it won't again unless they're stopped.
I agree, Trump will not stop Russia from interfering in our election, again...
I don't know about concerns over his health or age but I do know that Fox News has focused on Biden's flip flopping. Most recently the man has been up and down over like a yo-yo on the threat China poses. Before that he renounced his support for the Hyde Amendment. What does he stand for?
The only question is how many Fox news viewers will be stupid enough to believe this? The figure could be anything.
After so many claiming that only old white men, social conservatives, and racists watch Fox, what do you believe the effect will be?
Do you think Democrats will secretly tune in to Fox and believe everything they hear there after being told for a decade at least how "fake" Fox is?
Your comment is borderline on topic. Try and do better.
Are you serious?
I responded to YOU---you brought it up, not me.
Here is what you wrote:
Here is my response:
TOTALLY responsive to what YOU posted.
The article is about Fox spreading fake news. It's not about how many Democrats watch that channel.
and this comment barely makes any sense.
Then that makes either that post incorrect or this one off topic, according to you:
Tell me which parts don't make sense to you and I will try to explain it to you.
Hmmm...Your'e talking about most of America
Fox commentators could be right !
Joe "I Feel you" Biden sure does have a bunch of No-Shows, for someone running for President.
OR
Is Joe just staying away from the Nut shows the others go to, so he isn't seen as a Nut too soon ?
Being "Nutz" is a big health issue for most regular folks on this planet.
According to the article....the "Experts" are still baffled, even with all the "Word Salad" thrown in !
Not much to see in that article for sure.
Psychology ---- Tell me about your Mom ....was she hot ? Did she touch you ?
I haven't been following Biden because it's too early, but ultimately I would make my own judgment based on what I saw.
OK but that has a basis in fact. She did kind of collapse, and she did need to be physically helped along in places, she did cancel several events, she did pare down her campaigning to a few days a week in contrast to Trump who was out there every day.
Well, I hope this writer feels the same way about unfounded accusations that Trump is suffering from mental illness so severe that he should be removed from office, because that shit has been going on since he was sworn in and even months before.
MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski: A Mental Health Professional Should Diagnose Trump; "I'm Very Serious"
Democrats raise questions about Trump’s mental health
As Presidents Live Longer, Doctors Debate Whether To Test For Dementia
The 25th Amendment Solution for Removing Trump
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Still stands only more so.
I will give you a slight break because I know you were not on Newstalkers in 2016, and not knowing what news you were looking at, you may not have seen all the fake videos and fake news about Hillary's health during that campaign. We had numerous fake news stories about Hillary's health posted on this forum, and I'm not talking about her having the flu.
A lot of Trumpsters are low lifes, thats just the reality of the matter.
There is no evidence then or now that Hillary Clinton is ill.
Oh golly Mister thank you that is so kind. What would mindless dummies like me do without your generosity?
Fox News Stars Begin Pushing Rumors About Joe Biden’s Health
One month after Joe Biden announced his run for president, several Fox News stars have already begun quietly pushing rumors that the 76-year-old ex-veep is in poor health.
Since the end of May, Fox Business Network and Fox News star Lisa “Kennedy” Montgomery and Fox News prime-time host Sean Hannity have speculated on-air, on at least four separate occasions, that the current Democratic presidential frontrunner is secretly dealing with health issues, often comparing his condition to illness-related conspiracy theories the network pushed about Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election.
The Biden rumor-mongering seemingly began May 29, during the broadcast of Fox News’ afternoon gabfest The Five . While assessing Biden’s candidacy, Kennedy claimed to know Democratic operatives engaged in a whisper campaign about Biden’s health.
“He is much more like Hillary Clinton, because if you talk to Democrats, who are working for different campaigns, all of the aggressive gossip whisperers—and this is where the action is happening in terms of opposition research—it’s people having a few drinks at a bar and whispering, ‘You know there is something wrong with the former vice president,’” she claimed. “But that’s what they are actively doing right now. And it is surprising because they are concerned with taking Biden down and getting their candidate out there.”
Video: Fox Business Comments on Biden's Campaign Appearances
Joe Biden's lack of campaign appearances questioned
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Co-host Jesse Watters, an avid Trump booster, pressed Kennedy to elaborate. “Don’t do it,” co-host Greg Gutfeld joked to Kennedy, acknowledging the danger in openly speculating about Biden being sick.
The innuendo seemed to go over the head of Watters, however, as he took it upon himself to explain “the gossip” about Biden as involving his support from black voters. Gutfeld laughed, remarking: “I don’t think that’s what Kennedy meant.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of Hillary Clinton having a lumpy overcoat in 85-degree weather,” Kennedy explained, invoking a popular 2016 right-wing conspiracy theory fixated on a photo of Clinton wearing a wool jacket with a lump on the back while campaigning in warm weather.
“He looks healthy to me,” Watters—surprisingly—replied.
In the news business, it is considered irresponsible to spread baseless, potentially damaging rumors about public figures. Even Fox News briefly suspended Judge Andrew Napolitano in early 2017 after he made the unfounded claim on-air that British officials helped President Obama spy on the Trump campaign. Beyond news personalities, the American Medical Association considers it wholly unethical for physicians to speculate on public officials’ health without having personally examined them.
Nevertheless, early last week, while hosting her eponymous Fox Business Network show, Kennedy suggested Biden’s campaign staff may want to keep him “off a main stage” because he says “stupid things and he slurs,” adding that Biden “does look very tired.”
The following evening on her program, Kennedy went even further, once again invoking the conspiracy theory about Clinton’s overcoat to suggest Biden could be viewed as being in poor health.
“I think that it is a good move on Bernie’s part comparing Joe Biden to Hillary,” she said about Sanders saying that, in possibly picking Biden, Democrats might make “the same mistake” they did in nominating Clinton in 2016.
Sanders was referring specifically to how, in his estimation, there was and is a lack of energy and enthusiasm around both “establishment” candidates. And yet Kennedy suggested the comparison was health-related. “The more damage that [comparison] does, you go, ‘You know we haven’t seen Joe a lot, maybe he has hidden health issues, is always wearing an overcoat.’”
That same evening, during his top-rated prime-time Fox News show, Hannity—who regularly echoes Trump in calling the former vice president “Sleepy Joe”—also referenced Clinton to speculate about Biden’s health.
“Joe Biden’s tired,” he declared. “He does not have the energy for this. He’s not up for this challenge. They’re already hiding him like they hid Hillary. They don’t want him out there.”
In a statement to The Daily Beast, the Biden campaign’s national press secretary, TJ Ducklo, said “These are baseless lies meant to stoke fear in their viewers. It has no place in our public discourse, and anyone amplifying it bears some responsibility for giving it legitimacy it most certainly does not deserve.”
But this not the first time cable-news stars have made similar unverified insinuations about a candidate.
In the summer of 2016, Fox News devoted copious amounts of airtime to conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton’s medical state. For an entire week in August , Hannity hosted segments in which he and a slew of guests analyzed out-of-context photos and videos while referencing Clinton’s 2012 concussion to claim the Democratic nominee was battling chronic illnesses, maladies, seizures, and critical neurological conditions. It didn’t take long for the Trump campaign to echo the claims.
At the time, even Newt Gingrich noted the recklessness in baselessly speculating about public figures’ health issues, calling it “junk medicine.” Additionally, he fretted : “Next you’re gonna get a left-wing psychiatrist explaining Donald Trump in negative terms."
And now since taking office, Trump himself has occasionally been the butt of such illness-related speculation.
CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter faced criticism when he wondered aloud in 2017 why more journalists don’t ask “uncomfortable questions” about the president’s mental state. “His actions have been described as unpresidential, unhinged, and sometimes even crazy,” Stelter said. “That word crazy can be interpreted several different ways. It gets said more in private than on TV.” And Stelter has been far from alone at CNN when it comes to questioning the president’s mental fitness.
MSNBC hosts, too, have speculated on the president’s mental and physical fitness. For example, for more than a year now, Trump’s ex-pal-turned-nemesis Joe Scarborough has repeatedly claimed the president is dealing with neurocognitive disorders.
In November 2017 , the Morning Joe host relayed that “people close to him during the campaign told me he had early stages of dementia.”
In recent weeks, Scarborough has resuscitated these rumors, insisting last month that those who know Trump are worried that he has “pre-dementia” and is in “mental decline.”
—With additional reporting from Andrew Kirell.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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MBFC rates the Daily Beast as left biased.
So what?
Biased source, biased post.
So what
I would hate to have Trump's nerve in a tooth.
Exactly what has Fox aired regarding Biden's health that has been proven fake?
It would be nice if on-air quotes were provided, and then proven fake.
A real journalist would actually provide proof when making such claims. So you prefer that they just spout out any conspiracy theory, or things like this, and then it's up to everyone else to prove them wrong? And when it's someone like this making the claim ....
What a whackjob, and a lying quack. I'd say it's up to Hannity to provide support for his claims.
You read your link and realize it does exactly NOTHING to answer the question asked, right?
If you wish to talk about Hannity, seed an article, and we can talk about it there.
THIS article is about Fox news airing "fake" news about Joe Biden's health.
You asked what was proven fake - and I pointed out that Hannity is a liar and a shock jock type. His reputation is relevant and the burden of proof is up to him. If it were an actual Fox journalist making such claims, he/she would be backing up the claims.
That is relevant.
Both sides do that. I always find it entertaining when they accuse each other of the same tactics.
Here is my post:
Your answer is non-responsive.
Prove it
Funny...
"Ok.. Only [deleted] would post such TRASH, even if it's CLAIMED to be satire about D-Day, whether it's related to Trump or not." - XDm9mm on "Trumps D-Day Speech Leaked" 1 week ago
Ah, so when you use big letters it's expressing valid complaints, but when someone else uses big letters it's their failed attempt to feel smart? Seems like the complaint should have been with what was said then instead of the size of a font supposedly determining the intelligence of the author. I just find hypocrisy and a flailing absurd defense of said hypocrisy rather humorous to watch.
Nope I just wanted to make sure incomplete illerates could read it
Better yet,
Prove that it's true?
See how that goes? Neither is possible.
Well, since I made no claim, that is exactly what I was asking for--proof that Fox claimed something regarding Biden's health and then the proving that it was fake.
If Fox claimed that Biden had cancer, I would expect his doctor could easily refute that.
Let me explain.
There has been no released medical information about Joe Biden.
Any claim about his health is unprovable.
No responsible new agency should be making claims without proof. If they have proof they should be showing it.
That is called responsible journalism. I know it's a concept that has been missing for about the last 20 years and only getting worse, but that is how it is supposed to go.
I have not even read the article and I am pissed off! Conservatives have already been BUSTED doing this to Hillary Clinton, made an attempt to do it against Buttigieg , and are now coming for Biden?
Man says Buttigieg never assaulted him, blames conservative activists for claim
There ought to be a law against people trying to "exploit" other people with deliberate lies. These kinds of dishonesty are beyond the pail.
How can anybody who loves the truth, law, and rule of law, enable intentional lying and propaganda once discovered. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, trice, shames on me!
When an organization shows you p oint-blank (w in by any means necessary ) what they are abou t believe them!
You've got that so ass backwards or should I say the projection is strong among republicans
I may know better than you what republicans/conservatives have learned about the political game from Steve Bannon (formerly "Trump's Brain"):
"Gameness" is what we see occurring throughout the Republican-conservative 'world' - folks trying (with some success actually) to pull success out of obvious failures—even if it is only a momentarily delay.
Sort of like how some deploy "gameness" here on NT.