CNN host Jim Acosta pushed back on claims by ex-Trump aide Bryan Lanza that Democrats should be forced to stick with their choice of President Joe Biden for the 2024 presidential election, saying it would feel like “cheating” for the party to switch candidates “at this point.”
The exchange came as the pair weighed up the panic among Democrats in response to Biden’s performance in the first presidential debate on Thursday. Prominent supporters of the president have called for him to drop out of the race.
Speaking on CNN Newsroom on Friday, as Acosta ran over some of the falsehoods peddled by former President Donald Trump during the debate, Lanza reflected that the main takeaway for the American public was seeing in Biden “a president who just doesn’t have the cognitive fitness to be president.”
He mused that in the coming weeks there would be conversations around “whether the 25th Amendment is exercised or whether the Democratic Party tries to find a new candidate.”
Lanza then shared his own opinion: “I think Joe Biden should be on the ballot this November. I don’t think they should be allowed to switch candidates at this point. They voted, they want him here. We’re running resources… It feels cheating to try to change it at this point.”
Acosta retorted that as a Trump-supporter Lanza “obviously” didn’t want Biden to drop out: “You don’t want that to happen because you want your candidate to win.”
As the host attempted to return the conversation to Trump’s “lies,” Lanza attacked the media’s defense of Biden and focus on Trump: “Sure CNN and MSNBC can try to sort of focus on the lies…”
Acosta interrupted: “Don’t go there. Don’t talk about the press. Come on, over and over again. [Trump] said the January 6 defendants are, quote, ‘so innocent’, correct? These are people that are criminals.”
The guest returned: “And what did voters decide?”
The host continued: “They stormed the Capitol. They broke the law. That would’ve never happened had Donald Trump just accepted the results of the 2020 election. And you know that.”
“Sure, but what have voters decided on that?” Lanza replied. “The voters decided that is not their priority when they vote in this election… [Trump’s] winning the general election. He leads swing states so it’s all voters at this particular point have made the decision that January 6 is not relevant to their lives.”
Issues relevant to voters, he continued, include immigration and inflation: “I get it that the media wants to cover for Joe Biden and focus on the past, but the future is…”
Acosta pushed back, insisting coverage was fair: “Joe Biden… everybody was reporting… We just went through all the headlines at all the major newspapers, all the networks, are all saying [about] the president’s performance last night…”
Lanza shot back: “And you want voters to focus on January 6. The voters aren’t focusing on January 6.”
The host returned: “We’re focusing on what Donald Trump said last night because he lied repeatedly, over and over again.”
Watch above on CNN.
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com
Most Popular
Comments / 0