CNN anchor apologizes over Biden report

CNN host John King in a tweet Tuesday expressed regret over discussing an unconfirmed report about former Vice President Joe Biden and the Iowa caucuses on-air, saying it was “in a word, stupid.”

King, a veteran CNN anchor, sent out the tweet after the Biden campaign criticized a report discussed on-air that he was thinking about challenging the release Tuesday of the partial results of the Iowa caucuses.

After the Biden campaign firmly axed the rumor, King took to Twitter, tweeting, “Team Biden says talk it may challenge IA release plans 100% untrue.”

“In the breaking news rush my discussing, even skeptically, incoming from rival campaigns was, in a word, stupid,” King said in his tweet.

Important: Team Biden says talk it may challenge IA release plans 100% untrue. In the breaking news rush my discussing, even skeptically, incoming from rival campaigns was, in a word, stupid.

— John King (@JohnKingCNN) February 4, 2020

On a live broadcast, King said that he was receiving word from aides of other Democratic presidential candidates that the Biden campaign was considering filing an injunction to stop the partial release of the Iowa caucus results. The Iowa Democratic Party said earlier in the day that the 5 p.m. ET release of the results wouldn’t be complete.

In response to King’s assertion, a Biden campaign aide told The Hill, “That is 100% false, and checking with people before reporting rumors about them is an underrated practice.”

Due to technological failure and other problems, the results of Monday’s first-in-the-nation Democratic caucus were delayed until late Tuesday afternoon.