President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are set to face off tonight in the first of two presidential debates for the 2024 election season. But a number of conspiracy theories have circulated on social media this week, with many claiming that there are shadowy forces plotting to help Biden and hurt Trump.
The debate, the fastest ever between two presidential candidates, was hosted by CNN in Atlanta. 9pm ET/6pm PSTAbout 60% of Americans say they plan to watch TV tonight, but if you follow politics on platforms like X, Facebook, or TikTok, you’ve already seen the ridiculous conspiracy theories about what’s coming.
Below, we’ve rounded up some of the most popular conspiracy theories, from claims that Biden would wear an earpiece to the outlandish idea that the broadcast would somehow be tampered with.
What’s behind these strange conspiracy theories? Trump supporters seem so terrified that Biden will do well against the former president that they’re doing everything in their power to preemptively claim that Biden’s performance is somehow rigged. Trump himself said just last month that Biden is a terrible debater.
“Villain Joe Biden is the worst debater I’ve ever encountered. He can’t string two sentences together!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. In May.
But Trump changed his tune. Recent weeksSpeaking on the All In podcast, he argued that Biden was “worthy of the debate” and that “I don’t want to underestimate him.”
Trump, who was convicted of plotting a coup on January 6, 2021 in order to stay in power, has clearly been trying to manage expectations so as not to look like a fool. But as the examples below show, he also has an army of followers online who are happy to disrupt things.
1) Will the CNN debate have a two-minute broadcast delay?
X-user Patrick Webb, who works for a right-wing “news” website called Reading Report, claimed Thursday that CNN would air the election with an unusually long delay, suggesting that CNN could edit out Biden’s errors.
“BREAKING: CNN will likely delay tonight’s Presidential debate by 1-2 minutes instead of the usual 7 second delay to allow time to edit portions of the broadcast,” Webb tweeted. On Thursday.
CNN denied the claim, tweeting, “This is FALSE. The debate begins live at 9pm ET.”
Oddly enough, Webb went on to share a screenshot of a conversation he had with ChatGPT about the definition of “live TV,” which was akin to asking Speak N Spell a complex math problem. After receiving ridicule, Webb deleted the tweet. See screenshot below:
Webb is clearly trying desperately to rationalize claims that have no credible sources.
The top story in Reading Reports right now is the false claim that COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer in people. If you want to know how seriously to take this website and the people who work there, that’s wrong.
2) Would Biden take performance-enhancing drugs?
One of the most popular conspiracy theories online right now is that President Biden is taking all sorts of drugs to appear sane, a claim that implicitly accuses the president of having dementia, something Trump has repeatedly said despite his own statements that he does not. Incoherent story At rallies and media appearances.
Laura Loomer is a hateful bigot. 12+ Technology Platforms Her accusations of bias came in a tweet on Thursday that helped fuel claims that Biden would take performance-enhancing drugs.
“BREAKING: @JoeBiden refuses drug test ahead of tonight’s presidential debate,” Loomer said. Claimed“President Trump has agreed to submit to a drug test, but Biden has now refused. This essentially confirms that Joe Biden is going to be injected with drugs before the debate.”
But of course that’s all bullshit.
As The Washington Post As recently explained, there are currently no drugs on the market that enhance cognition or mask the symptoms of dementia. If there were such a drug, we would give it to everyone with Alzheimer’s and make the world a more manageable place for everyone.
And it’s entirely possible that this is another example of Trump projection. After all, Trump’s personal White House physician, Ronny Jackson (who Trump recently referred to as “Lonnie Johnson) was demoted from the Navy, Drinking at work He was nicknamed “Candyman” because he handed out candy. Powerful Drugs Outside of normal prescription procedures.
3) Will Biden wear an earpiece?
The idea of Joe Biden wearing earphones has been around for some time, but Trump even ran an ad about it. Back to 2020 That is exactly what I am criticizing the president for. Bastard Trump adviser Roger Stone tweeted: on wednesday To spread unfounded ideas about 2024.
“No earpieces! Trump should demand that Biden be thoroughly screened before the CNN debate begins to make sure he isn’t wearing a deeply implanted, high-tech earpiece,” Stone wrote.
There is no evidence that Biden was wearing earphones, a glaring absurdity when you consider how difficult it would be to listen to someone within earshot while trying to counter a loudmouth like Donald Trump.
4) Will Biden be replaced by a double?
Most of the craziest conspiracy theories originate online, but Fox News is no slouch when it comes to the most ridiculous ideas about Biden cheating. For example, Greg Gutfeld of Fox’s “Biden Cheats” said: Five Earlier this week, he argued that Biden’s spending so much time at Camp David preparing for the debates was inherently suspicious.
“What on earth is going on? Is it taking that long for a new face to heal? Is it taking that long to 3D print a body double?” Gutfeld Said.
Of course, Gutfeld would say he was just joking, but this is a very popular idea among the far-right and QAnon-focused crowd. Indeed, at various times throughout Biden’s presidency, online conspiracy theorists have claimed that Biden is actually being represented by a doppelganger or that someone has appeared in public wearing a Biden mask.
Unfortunately, the “evidence” for the mask theory is As we age, everyone’s skinWhether you like it or not, it’s going to sag.
5) Is CNN blocking journalists’ access to cover up a medical emergency?
The White House Correspondents’ Association, which lobby on behalf of journalists at the White House, sent a letter to CNN on Tuesday asking for better access to the debate. As it stands, journalists in Atlanta are only allowed to watch a livestream in an adjacent room.
As Bloomberg As he explains (emphasis added):
The concern for other networks is that something might happen in the debate hall that only CNN reporters could witness: Unlike past debates, this one will have no spectators and the microphone of one candidate will be muted while the other is speaking. That means a rival journalist could miss a gesture or an asidea during a CNN report, or it could lead to something more serious, like one of the candidates having a medical emergency.
This statement about a medical emergency has been spread around the internet without any context and has been misrepresented to imply that a “medical emergency” is a given.
As a technical journalist This is expressed by XReporters were “removed from the room” in preparation for a “presidential medical emergency,” which of course meant that it was Biden who collapsed, and that CNN, for some unclear reason, did not want other journalists to see.
But there is no evidence that CNN is moving journalists to separate rooms for any reason other than because it has total control over this debate. CNN has circumvented and broken the normal rules set by the neutral adjudicating body in the debates, the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has since been shut down.
Even CNN A statement was issued On Thursday, former CNN reporter Brian Stelter said they were, in effect, in control and didn’t want other media to get involved.
As proud members of the White House Correspondents Association, we respect the role this organization plays and their support for press freedom and access. CNN’s presidential debates will be held behind closed doors in CNN studios, with no spectators or media presence. Feeds will be available to Washington Pool members, Washington Pool subscribers and CNN affiliates, and will also be available for free embedding via CNN’s YouTube channel for digital outlets, and on CNN.com. Following our traditional approach, CNN will provide access to the debate studio to a limited number of camera crews for the duration of the event, and to a larger group of camera crews during commercial breaks. Additionally, CNN will provide designated print pool reporters access to the debate venue during the first commercial break to enable them to provide pool reporting from within the debate studio.
Of course, that doesn’t stop the conspiracy theories.
6) Will Biden be replaced?
Doubles aside, there is a persistent theory that Biden will be replaced before the November election.
according to Jason Calacanis From the All In podcast:
Tonight, as the world watches to see if Biden suffers a brutal defeat to Trump, there is a good chance he will have a senior moment. If either or both happen, Biden will likely withdraw.
A replacement candidate is on the way. Don’t be surprised if the Democrats magically find two new candidates. After this week’s vote, a replacement candidate is the best way to turn this situation around, and the Democrats know it.
It’s too early to completely rule this out, as anything can happen in this crazy world, but there is absolutely no evidence that this is the case. It would simply defy logic for Biden to back out at this point. He’s had multiple opportunities to say he doesn’t want to run, and the longer he waits, the more likely it is that his successor will be in jeopardy of a Democratic victory.
Again, anything could happen, but the idea of Biden being replaced at the last minute really only pops up on Fox News or in the silliest corners of the internet.
