Biden attacks Fox News in closed-door fundraiser
President Joe Biden returned to Fox News Monday night when he slammed the conservative news network at closed-door fundraisers with wealthy Democratic donors.
He also lashed out at GOP Congressman Majorie Taylor Greene, saying Jimmy Carter, the ailing former president, had asked him to deliver the eulogy at his funeral.
The president spoke to 40 Democratic donors for a $7 million, 9,000-square-foot home in the affluent Ranchio Santa Fe neighborhood, outside San Diego.
In his conversation with his base, he unleashed some of the Democrats’ top advisers, starting with Fox News.
Referring to the 2020 election and the internal communications that have come out in the Dominion lawsuit against the conservative news network, the president remarked, “Finally, even Fox News admits I won.”
President Joe Biden arrives in Del Mar, outside San Diego, where he was on his way to a closed-door fundraiser for wealthy Democratic donors
Dominion is suing Fox News, in a $1.6 billion case, alleging that the media company defamed the polling place by questioning their technology and methods. Fox vehemently disputes the allegations.
In the documents in the lawsuit, internal Fox communications revealed that many of the conservative hosts questioned Donald Trump’s claim that the election was stolen from him. Tucker Carlson even revealed that he “passionately hated Trump.”
Carlson is said to have written in another text message, “That’s the past four years. We all pretend to give a lot because admitting what a disaster it has been is too hard to digest. But come on. There isn’t really an advantage to Trump.”
The former president is said to have been a big fan of Carlson’s show, which featured topics covered by the Fox News host that helped guide White House policy.
In addition, Rupert Murdoch, owner of the network, privately worried that its stars — such as Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham — had gone too far in their claims that the pageant had been stolen.
In his email to CEO Suzanne Scott on Jan. 21, 2021 — the day after Biden’s inauguration — Murdoch said he was criticized for the network’s insistence that the election was stolen, the lawsuit alleges.
“We’re still getting mud thrown at us!” Murdoch wrote. “Maybe Sean and Laura went too far.”
He also asked Scott if it was “irrefutable that high-profile Fox votes fueled the narrative that the election was stolen and that January 6 was an important opportunity to overturn the result.”
During his 40-minute remarks on Monday, Biden also shared the story of Greene calling him a “liar” during his State of the Union address when he said Republicans wanted to scrap Social Security and Medicare.
Biden lashed out at Fox News (anchor Tucker Carlson’s show above) saying the network finally admitted he won the election
Biden denounced Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greeene for calling him a liar during the State of the Union address
“Last time anyone did it, they were censored,” he said, referring to former Republican Rep. Joe Wilson, who yelled “you’re lying” at President Barack Obama during his 2017 State of the Union address.
Republicans were outraged when Biden in his remarks accused the GOP of wanting to “interrupt” Medicare and Social Security.
The president was referring to a plan by Republican Senator Rick Scott to automatically scrap laws if they are not renewed, which Democrats say would include Medicare and Social Security.
Several Republicans have argued that this is not the case.
Biden noted that the Republicans yelling at him also reassured him that they didn’t want to scrap those entitlement programs.
“I hope they stick to the commitment and don’t cut it,” he said in his remarks.
Biden and House Republicans are gearing up for a budget showdown. The president has released his $6.8 trillion budget, which includes tax increases for the wealthy and corporations to pay for his social programs and protect entitlement programs while reducing the national deficit.
Republicans have yet to release their budget.
Biden said Jimmy Carter asked him to deliver his eulogy – above, former president Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter pose for a photo with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden as the Bidens visited their Georgia home in April 2021
Biden also spoke about Jimmy Carter, the former Democratic president who has been placed in hospice.
“He asked me to do his eulogy,” the president said. And added, “Excuse me, I’m not allowed to say that.”
In late February, Carter entered hospice. Biden and his wife Jill met Jimmy and Rosslyn Carter in April 2021 in Plains, Georgia.
At 98, Carter is the oldest living ex-president in US history. He survived metastatic brain cancer and faced a number of health issues.
In his behind-closed-door fundraisers, Biden is often looser and more disciplined than in his regular speeches. The fundraisers are closed to the cameras, but journalists are allowed inside to record the president’s remarks.
Biden often uses the opportunity to rally his base. Monday night’s event raised $1 million for the Democratic Party. The president, who has said he plans to seek a second term, is expected to formally announce his decision in the coming months.