WorldNetDaily ceased being a credible “news” organization long ago, but this year it has become almost indistinguishable from the Trump campaign. Before the first presidential debate, its articles read like Trump campaign press releases. For instance, a June 25 article by Andrew Powell carried the false headline “CNN slaps gag order on Trump ahead of debates”; what actually happened is that a CNN host cut the mic of Trump campaign surrogate Karoline Leavitt for repeatedly attacking CNN hosts and debate moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. Powell claimed that Leavitt “mentioned Jake Tapper’s constant comparisons of Trump to Adolf Hitler,” but he did not quote her doing so, let alone any evidence that this was something Tapper actually did on a “constant” basis. In fact, the only person Powell quoted in his article is Fox News host Jesse Watters, who was not a participant in the interview.
Bob Unruh served as a Trump stenographer in another June 25 article by pushing the conspiracy theory that Biden is on drugs:
Joe Biden sometimes is lethargic, slow, even inattentive when participating in an event or answering questions.
Sometimes he’s fiery, angry, shouting constantly, spitting out words so fast they turn into a word salad, as during his recent State of the Union.
And that’s a contrast that has prompted at least one forensic psychiatrist, Carole Lieberman, to suspect amphetamines, uppers.
[…]But questions about whether Biden is using helps during this week’s debate with President Donald Trump will remain unanswered, as his campaign has refused calls from Trump for both candidates to be tested.
It was Biden spokeswoman Adrienne Elrod who stumbled when asked about the test.
“I mean, I don’t even really know what to say about that. I worked on Hillary Clinton’s campaign, you know, she also debated him very effectively. He accused her of being on drugs.”
Managing editor David Kupelian sounded like he had Leavitt’s job in bashing Biden in a June 26 column, in which he also spread the “juiced” conspiracy theory:
With the nation’s – and perhaps much of the world’s – attention fixated on Thursday night’s presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, one question that is doubtlessly looming large in the minds of many people is: Which Joe Biden will show up for the CNN-hosted primetime debate?
For two jarringly different versions of the 81-year-old president are evident to just about everyone.
One version, by far the most common, is the dazed, wandering-off, disoriented, shaking-hands-with-the-air, stumbling, mumbling, speech-slurring Joe Biden, of which countless embarrassing videos populate the internet. Indeed, Biden’s painfully obvious mental and physical decline since becoming president are familiar to virtually everyone who follows the news.
But then there is the other version of Joe Biden – the one seen and heard, to cite just one example, at his 2024 State of the Union speech – angry, shouting, speaking so fast and so emotionally that he sometimes runs his words together, making them difficult to understand.
This latter syndrome, and the dramatic contrast with the normal, everyday, stumbling, mumbling Biden, has caused some medical professionals, including well-known forensic psychiatrist and frequent trial expert witness Carole Lieberman, to suspect the president is on drugs – specifically amphetamines, or “uppers.”
“If you look at how Joe Biden usually is – slow and stumbling – compared to how he was during the State of the Union – fiery and angry – these are signs that are typical for someone taking Adderall or any amphetamine,” she explained, as WND has reported.
Biden “would not pass a baseline mental competency test,” she says.
[…]So, which Biden will show up Thursday night? Will it be the normal dazed, confused, mumbling, words-trailing-off Biden – or the fiery, shouting, amphetamine-like “speedy speech” Biden?
Bob Unruh parroted a tease from Trump in a June 27 article:
President Donald Trump could throw a huge curve ball into the 2024 presidential race just ahead of tonight’s debate with Joe Biden in Atlanta – by announcing his pick for vice president.
A report at The Independent cited four sources who told NBC that the announcement could come this week.
Trump previously has said he’d announce his running mate before or during the Republican National Convention next month.
Trump has said the person he’s picking for the post will be at the debate tonight, and the report pointed out North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio are all expected to attend.
Unruh continued to obsess over the “juiced” conspiracy theory in a June 27 article, the day of the debate:
The White House is not “dignifying” questions about whether Joe Biden will be juiced on uppers for Thursday night’s debate.
That means they’re not responding.
But by the end of the evening, most observers likely will have an opinion.
Was he the lethargic, slow, even inattentive octogenarian often seen, or the red-eyed, shouting, berating attacker seen at other times.
Yet another press release — er, “news” article from Unruh that day touted how the Trump campaign set up a website to fact-check Biden during the debate. No mention, of course, of the torrent of lies Trump typically spews in a day.
WND also provided a livestream of the debate, with a highly biased description of what it thought would take place: “Fight pits ‘MAGA’ plans for nation against Dems’ abortion, transgenderism, global warming agendas.” Yep, WND is totally a PR arm of the Trump campaign.