Scully 'hack' should be 'easy to prove,' says pollster Lee Carter

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Pollster Lee Carter on second presidential debate canceled after Steve Scully tweet 'hack'

Pollster Lee Carter reacts to the second presidential debate getting canceled on 'Fox & Friends Weekend.'

If C-SPAN's Steve Scully was really "hacked" on Twitter as he claims, it should be "easy to prove," pollster Lee Carter said Saturday on "Fox & Friends Weekend."

Carter called the cancellation of the second presidential debate between President Trump and Joe Biden -- which would have been moderated by Scully -- a "loss" for the American people.

After Trump, who became infected with coronavirus, said he would not agree to a virtual debate, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) canceled the Oct. 15 matchup.

Meanwhile, a tweet seeking advice from former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, a vocal Trump critic, appeared Thursday on Scully's Twitter account. The journalist claimed it was the result of a hack.

"This should be something that's very, very easy to clear up, and if it turns out that it's not a hack, it's a really big issue," said Carter, who noted that she had been hacked. "I'd like to give the benefit of the doubt, and I'd like to get some answers."

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Trump has sounded off against Scully, who has a history of blaming "hackers" for controversial posts made on his Twitter account, dating back to 2012 and 2013.

".@SteveScully, the Never Trumper next debate moderator, got caught cold. Pulled out the old, 'I’ve been hacked', line. That never works. His bosses are furious at him as he’s lost all credibility!" Trump exclaimed.

According to a statement from C-SPAN, Scully "did not originate the tweet" in question, and the CPD was investigating the incident "with the help of authorities."

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"He has a great record. He's known to be pretty fair," Carter said of Scully.

She lamented the loss of the debate, saying,"the American people lose with the politics of this."

"These debates could actually make a big difference to voters," with polls showing Trump and Biden within a few percentage points in states like Florida and Arizona, she said.

Scully's initial tweet caused confusion and fury among critics, with many concluding the moderator meant to send his message to Scaramucci privately. 

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Scaramucci responded by telling Scully: "Ignore. He is having a hard enough time. Some more bad stuff about to go down."

Scaramucci said Friday that he thought Scully's tweet was real, prompting his own response Thursday night. He also tweeted later Friday that he has taken Scully's hacking claim "at his word," adding, "Let's not cancel anymore [sic] people from our culture for absolutely something like this. It’s insignificant. He is an objective journalist."

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Scully's credibility as an unbiased debate moderator was initially questioned after it became known that he previously worked as an intern for then-Sen. Biden and served as a staffer for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. 

During the 2016 campaign, Scully shared a New York Times op-ed headlined, "No, Not Trump, Not Ever."

Fox News' Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.