comScore

Trump Dismisses Debate Moderator Lester Holt as a ‘Democrat’ (He’s Actually a Republican)

VIDEO

lester holtRepublican presidential candidate Donald Trump criticized NBC’s Lester Holt as a biased Democrat ahead of next week’s presidential debate, but the future debate moderator is actually a registered Republican.

Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly began by praising Holt Monday night, saying they used to work together in local New York television and he believed he was a fair reporter. Trump agreed, saying “I have respect for Lester.”

“By the way,” Trump added later, “Lester is a Democrat.”

“I didn’t know that,” O’Reilly said.

“Look, it’s a phony system,” Trump continued. “Lester is a Democrat. I mean, they are all Democrats. Okay? It’s a very unfair system.”

But Time Magazine‘s Zeke Miller actually looked into the moderators’ political affiliations. His findings: “New York State voter registration documents show that Holt has been a registered Republican in the state since 2003.”

Ironically, the only debate moderator who is actually a registered Democrat is Fox News’ Chris Wallace, who liberal outlets like Media Matters have criticized as too biased in Trump’s favor. The remaining presidential debate moderator, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, is not registered with either party.

[Image via screengrab]

>>Follow Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) on Twitter

  1. Mediaite
  2. The Mary Sue
  3. RunwayRiot
  4. LawNewz
  5. Gossip Cop