Democrat Ted Lieu says report on him calling for Joe Biden to quit is 'completely wrong'
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) on Sunday warned citizens not to believe everything they read after he was forced to deny a report about him purportedly calling on Joe Biden to quit the presidential race in the wake of his poor debate showing.
A report surfaced over the weekend stating that Lieu was among those calling for Biden to quit the race on a private call. Specifically, the Washington Post stated, "Those who forcefully made the case for the president to drop his reelection bid were: Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Joseph Morelle (D-N.Y.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Adam Smith (D-Wash.), according to the three on the call who were granted anonymity to discuss a private meeting."
The Post issued a correction, but not before the faulty report led another reporter, Yashar Ali, to spread the "news" on his social media along with a photo of Lieu and Biden standing together.
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"California Congressman Ted Lieu, the Vice-Chair of the Democratic Caucus, said on a House Democrats call that President Biden should not seek re-election," Ali wrote on Sunday. "Lieu is now the highest ranking House Democrat to call on Biden to step aside from his campaign."
The problem, however, is that Lieu stated definitively that he didn't speak a word during the private call.
"The below is a super cool picture. However the story is completely wrong," Lieu said. "I never spoke at the House Democrats’ Rankers meeting today. Not a single word. Don’t believe everything you read on social media."
Analyst Allison Gill, better known as Mueller, She Wrote, said, "What the f--- is wrong with people. Just posting blatant lies at this point."
"Good lord. We can't trust anything the media says at this point," she added.
The below is a super cool picture.
However the story is completely wrong. I never spoke at the House Democrats’ Rankers meeting today. Not a single word.
Don’t believe everything you read on social media. https://t.co/HFsnMgSNft
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) July 7, 2024