After CNN hosted the first 2024 debate between President Joe Biden and presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump on Thursday night, June 28, much of the post-debate analysis focused on Biden's performance — which has been widely criticized as weak, lackluster and unfocused. But there has also been much discussion of the many lies that Trump told during the debate.
The next morning on CNN, host Jim Acosta and Bryan Lanza — who served as deputy communications director for Trump's 2016 campaign — debated mainstream media coverage of Biden. When Acosta claimed that mainstream media aren't scrutinizing Biden enough, Acosta vehemently pushed back against that claim.
Acosta argued that Biden "sort of let Donald Trump off the hook last night with a shaky performance," noting that Trump was "lying over and over again" and "pushing widely debunked conspiracy theories."
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Lanza responded that the debate showed "the mental deterioration of Joe Biden" and a president who lacks "cognitive fitness."
But when Lanza claimed that the press is going easy on Biden, Acosta shot back, "Don't talk about the press, come on. He lied over and over again. He said that January 6 defendants are, quote, 'so innocent.' These people are criminals; they stormed the Capitol."
Acosta shot down Lanza's claim that the media "wants to give cover to Joe Biden," telling the former Trump aide, "Giving cover to Joe Biden? Everybody is reporting. We just went through all the headlines in the all the major newspapers! All the networks are saying that the president had a shaky performance."
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Watch the full video below or at this link.
