U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is again being accused of circulating inaccurate information on social media after amplifying a post suggesting President Joe Biden was experiencing a medical emergency on Air Force One. (In March, questioning additional US aid to Ukraine, Lee promoted an article from the pro-Russian website Grayzone and was criticized by Republicans and Democrats.)
Just another day in Bizzaro World: a sitting US senator pushing Russian propaganda. https://t.co/AggFzkx6UO
— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) September 25, 2023
On Friday, after amplifying the aforementioned post by longtime Fox News contributor and Trump administration Treasury official Monica Crowley, Lee was accused by former Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) of spreading “lies” about President Joe Biden.
As seen below, Lee wrote: “If Biden is having a medical emergency at this moment — on board Air Force One or otherwise — that raises … a lot of questions.”
[NOTE: X owner Elon Musk, who encourages “citizen journalism” on his social media platform and is a critic of Biden, responded to Lee: “That’s just every flight these days.”]
If Biden is having a medical emergency at this moment — on board Air Force One or otherwise — that raises … a lot of questions. https://t.co/KgnlflGxSd
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) July 6, 2024
The report Lee is circulating is contradicted by X’s Community Notes moderation: “Mr. Biden was filmed walking off of Air Force One when it arrived in Delaware after his trip to Wisconsin. This ‘report’ is false.” The video is below.
Here’s a video of him walking off of the plane: pic.twitter.com/v4WA6rusN6
— Franklin (@franklinisbored) July 6, 2024
Kinzinger responded to Lee: “You’re a US Senator and spreading these lies. How far you have fallen.”
I’m too old to remember when Mike Lee was a serious conservative senator who firmly opposed Donald Trump. What an absolute clown he’s become pic.twitter.com/Z8je0URTke
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) July 6, 2024
Republicans Against Trump also responded to Lee’s attempt to spread the POTUS health scare rumor, with a tweet that read: “I’m too old to remember when Mike Lee was a serious conservative senator who firmly opposed Donald Trump. What an absolute clown he’s become.”
The 81-year-old Biden, whose health and mental acuity have been in the public spotlight since his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump last week, is in a campaign-defining battle against a swelling narrative that he is no longer fit for office.
The performance — along with other moments of uncertain lucidity — makes Biden a target of legitimate health-related scrutiny and suspicion. Even top Democrat and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) recently admitted the public needed to know if Biden’s bad debate night was “an episode” or a “condition.”
Yet in addition to the legitimate concerns about Biden’s health — which his post-debate appearances have done little to quell — Biden is now, as Lee’s tweet demonstrates, uniquely vulnerable to false health-related rumors that pile innuendo on top of those legitimate concerns.