[Daily Beast] One month after Joe Biden announced his run for president, several Fox News stars have already begun quietly pushing rumors that the 76-year-old ex-veep is in poor health.Since the end of May, Fox Business Network and Fox News star Lisa "Kennedy" Montgomery and Fox News prime-time host Sean Hannity have speculated on-air, on at least four separate occasions, that the current Democratic presidential frontrunner is secretly dealing with health issues, often comparing his condition to illness-related conspiracy theories the network pushed about Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election.
The Biden rumor-mongering seemingly began May 29, during the broadcast of Fox News’ afternoon gabfest The Five. While assessing Biden’s candidacy, Kennedy claimed to know Democratic operatives engaged in a whisper campaign about Biden’s health.
"He is much more like Hillary Clinton, because if you talk to Democrats, who are working for different campaigns, all of the aggressive gossip whisperers‐and this is where the action is happening in terms of opposition research‐it’s people having a few drinks at a bar and whispering, ’You know there is something wrong with the former vice president,’" she claimed. "But that’s what they are actively doing right now. And it is surprising because they are concerned with taking Biden down and getting their candidate out there."
Co-host Jesse Watters, an avid Trump booster, pressed Kennedy to elaborate. "Don’t do it," co-host Greg Gutfeld joked to Kennedy, acknowledging the danger in openly speculating about Biden being sick.
The innuendo seemed to go over the head of Watters, however, as he took it upon himself to explain "the gossip" about Biden as involving his support from black voters. Gutfeld laughed, remarking: "I don’t think that’s what Kennedy meant."
"I was thinking more along the lines of Hillary Clinton having a lumpy overcoat in 85-degree weather," Kennedy explained, invoking a popular 2016 right-wing conspiracy theory fixated on a photo of Clinton wearing a wool jacket with a lump on the back while campaigning in warm weather.
"He looks healthy to me," Watters‐surprisingly‐replied.