CNN media pundit Brian Stelter raised eyebrows earlier this month by claiming "mostly right-wing media" is behind the growing push for Joe Biden not to debate President Trump -- but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested Thursday the 2020 Democratic nominee should do exactly that.
"I don't think that there should be any debates," Pelosi said out of the blue at a news conference at the Capitol, saying she doesn't want the debates to be "an exercise in skullduggery."
STELTER RIDICULED FOR CLAIMING ‘RIGHT-WING MEDIA TEMPEST’ IS BEHIND PUSH FOR BIDEN NOT TO DEBATE
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi destroyed CNN pundit Brian Stelter’s theory that conservative media was behind the narrative that Joe Biden should skip debates.
"I wouldn't legitimize a conversation with him, nor a debate in terms of the presidency of the United States. Now I know that the Biden campaign thinks in a different way about this,” Pelosi added.
Back on Aug. 3, Stelter famously declared that calls for Biden to skip the debates were “mostly a right-wing media tempest.”
At the time, Townhall.com political editor and Fox News contributor Guy Benson responded with a screenshot made by Reagan Battalion of various headlines from The New York Times, Newsweek, even CNN, where Stelter's own colleague Joe Lockhart urged Biden to not debate Trump.
CNN’S STELTER ACCUSED OF BREACHING NETWORK’S CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT
"It seems as though this notion wasn’t invented out of whole cloth by conservatives. It’s an idea that has been floated by left-leaning figures/outlets ...," Benson replied.
The "Reliable Sources" host appeared to then shift his argument, writing in a tweet, "I'm well aware. but it's a mistake to spend lots of precious time yakking about what leftie columnists are suggesting in this case. obviously biden will debate. why imply otherwise to viewers, hour after hour?"
While Benson and Stelter were respectful in disagreement, others took to Twitter to tear into Stelter for his attempt to blame "right-wing media" fueling such debate speculation.
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Three weeks later, Pelosi has joined the chorus of prominent Democrats urging Biden to skip the debates, rendering Stelter’s initial comment even more inaccurate.
Fox News’ Marissa Schultz and Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report
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