Fact Check: Claims Spread That Biden Campaign Tried to Renegotiate Presidential Debate Rules to Allow Him to Sit. Here's What We Found
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Claim:
In June 2024, the Biden campaign attempted to renegotiate the terms of the 2024 presidential debates to allow Biden to remain seated.
Rating:
As the 2024 U.S. presidential election neared, opponents of President Joe Biden continued to stress the fact that he is the oldest president in U.S. history, at 81. For example, on June 17, 2024, X account @DC_Reporter posted a claim that the Biden campaign was attempting to renegotiate the debate rules to allow him to sit for the 2024 presidential debates, according to two unnamed sources.
🚨SCOOP: Per two sources, including one at CNN, the Biden Campaign is trying to renegotiate the debate rules to allow Biden to be seated.
This would be a major format change from what was agreed to.— Washington Reporter (@DC_Reporter) June 17, 2024
The post received more than 2 million views and 2,300 likes, as of this writing. The account that posted the claim belongs to the right-leaning news outlet The Washington Reporter.
We looked into the claim, and deemed it to be unfounded. There is no evidence that Biden's campaign attempted to change the debate rules to allow Biden to sit.
A few hours after the Washington Reporter posted the claim, Forbes Magazine reported that CNN debunked this claim, saying "it's not accurate," and that both Biden and presidential candidate Donald Trump agreed to CNN's proposed format (standing on stage) when they accepted the network's invitation to debate.
Kevin Munoz, assistant press secretary for Biden, also posted on X confirming that the claim was untrue.
As CNN said, this claim is completely untrue. pic.twitter.com/7UoifKh6dX
— Kevin Munoz (@munozka315) June 17, 2024
The editor in chief for the Washington Reporter has previously spread untrue rumors, including that George Soros organizers were recruiting paid "March for Our Lives" protesters, as we've previously reported.
We reached out to the Washington Reporter seeking evidence of the claim, and will update this story if we receive a response.
Sources:
About Us | Washington Reporter. 18 Mar. 2024, https://washingtonreporter.news/about/.
Dorn, Sara. 'CNN Denies Claim Biden Wanted To Sit During Debate'. Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/06/17/cnn-denies-claim-biden-wanted-to-sit-during-debate/. Accessed 17 June 2024.
