'It was Biden's job': Outrage as Daniel Goldman slams CNN for giving Donald Trump 'free rein to just lie' during debate
WASHINGTON, DC: New York Rep Daniel Goldman ignited a storm of controversy after he sharply criticized CNN for failing to fact-check former President Donald Trump's statements during his debate with President Joe Biden.
The fiery exchange, which occurred during an interview with Anderson Cooper on Friday, June 28, has left both the network and the moderators under intense scrutiny, as per The Hill.
Daniel Goldman criticizes CNN debate moderators for failing to push back on Donald Trump's false statements
Goldman did not mince words when discussing CNN's role in the debate.
"He is blatantly mischaracterizing the disaster that was his presidency," told Goldman to Cooper, a moment captured and highlighted by Mediaite. The New York lawmaker expressed frustration that Trump's false claims received significant attention without adequate rebuttal.
The debate, moderated by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, was the first face-to-face encounter between Biden and Trump since the 2020 election.
Despite a set of agreed-upon rules, including muting microphones while the other candidate was speaking, Goldman's primary concern was the lack of real-time fact-checking.
He expressed, "Let’s have another debate where actually the moderators will push back on Donald Trump’s lies. He intimidated your network, unfortunately, and there was no pushback."
Goldman's remarks underscore a broader concern among Democrats who felt that the network's approach allowed Trump to dominate the narrative with unchecked statements.
Characterized by blank stares, a lack of energy, and frequent stumbling over words, Biden's demeanor overshadowed his rival's responses during the debate. This led many Democrats to push Biden to step down to allow a younger candidate to take his place.
Despite this, Goldman urged the incumbent to participate in the second debate, which is scheduled to take place after the party conventions in September and will be hosted by ABC News. David Muir and Linsey Davis will moderate the September 10 debate.
"Thursday was an off night," remarked Goldman, emphasizing his desire to see if Trump would continue to spread falsehoods. The Democrat added, "He was given free rein to just lie as much as he wants and that’s not helpful to the American public either."
Daniel Goldman's critique of CNN draws flak online
Goldman's remarks regarding CNN's failure to fact-check Trump's apparent lies drew flak, with many arguing that Biden should have been able to counter his opponent.
One Facebook user said, "Goldman / lies - go hand in hand," and another remarked, "It's not supposed to be the job of the moderators to fact check either candidate during the debate."
"So tired of this serial lying demagogue. This misfit of a human," stated a person, while someone else added, "That was supposed to be the job of Joe Biden who was prepared for a week. He was supposed to push back and call out his opponent, a job that he didn't do at all that day."
One more wrote, "Mr. Goldman is a fascist who thinks anyone with a different opinion must be lying." "Fact checking Trump on stage was Biden’s job. He failed miserably," argued a netizen.
Another person commented, "He should be slamming CNN for lying about Biden's mental health. If the Democrats and their minions in the press had been honest about Biden, they wouldn't be in this mess."
"Just because you don’t like the truth that doesn’t make it a lie," said an individual.
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