CNN host Anderson Cooper lied Monday night in an attempt to end criticism he faced over an old photo of him standing in flood waters.

Over the weekend, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted out a Breitbart News article (penned by this reporter) showcasing CNN’s latest ratings disaster. In the week of September 3-9, the network fell 41 percent in daytime ratings compared to the same week in 2017. During the primetime hours, CNN dropped another 36 percent compared to last year.

Donald Trump Jr. tweeted that story along with a photo of Anderson Cooper standing in flood waters up to his waist while his camera crew can be seen standing in much lower waters.

It’s a shame that CNN’s ratings are down 41%. What’s worse is there’s a simple solution that they refuse to accept. Stop Lying to try to make @realDonaldTrump look bad. https://t.co/O3XyWchsJh pic.twitter.com/BCUCxKnOvO — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 16, 2018

The photo is from Hurricane Ike in 2008 and is not recent as some Twitter users falsely claimed.

“It’s a shame that CNN’s ratings are down 41%. What’s worse is there’s a simple solution that they refuse to accept. Stop Lying to try to make realDonaldTrump look bad,” Trump Jr. tweeted.

At no point did Trump Jr. say that the photo of Cooper was recent or from Hurricane Florence.

On Monday night, Cooper used his CNN show, Anderson Cooper 360, to conduct a lengthy and self-aggrandizing “rebuttal” of Trump Jr.’s tweet.

During the rebuttal video, Cooper plays the original footage from 2008, claiming that the shot was set up that way to demonstrate how the flood water is deeper in certain areas.

what are the chances @DonaldJTrumpJr apologizes for lying about me? Im not holding my breath. Check out the video below rebutting his false claim. https://t.co/r8fRX7VM3e — Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) September 18, 2018

“What are the chances DonaldJTrumpJr apologizes for lying about me? Im not holding my breath. Check out the video below rebutting his false claim,” Cooper tweeted.

The only problem? Cooper lied to defend himself, making up the fake news claim that Trump Jr. said the photo was from Florence.

“Now, over the weekend, however, the son of the president, Donny Jr., tweeted out this picture of me in waist high water, my camera crew, a few feet away, on higher ground, in only a little bit of water. Donny Jr. was claiming it showed me in Florence faking the depths of flood waters in order to somehow harm his father. And I quote from his tweet ‘stop lying to try to make @realDonaldTrump look bad.'”

Trump Jr. has since responded to this fake news, saying, “CNN doing what they do best. Crying & Lying. AC360 says I said it was a pic from Florence.”

“Isaid (sic) no such thing. ‘evidence’ CNN provided doesn’t even reference Florence. You guys can’t even fact check a meme. The illusion created by the pic is illustrative of the bs you sell!” he added.

CNN doing what they do best.

Crying & Lying.@AC360 says I said it was a pic from Florence

Isaid no such thing. “evidence" CNN provided doesn't even reference Florence. You guys can't even fact check a meme. The illusion created by the pic is illustrative of the bs you sell! https://t.co/wnRSns1Thf — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 18, 2018

“Not surprised AC360 lied about me on CNN last night. Par for the course. I never said the pic of him was from Florence. When I tweeted out the picture of AC360 it was with a link to an article about CNN’s dwindling ratings. Nothing to do with Florence,” Trump Jr. also tweeted.

GOP strategist Arthur Schwartz also responded to Cooper, tweeting, “Anderson is lashing out because Don decided to sit for an interview with ABC & their twelve million viewers but laughed at the interview request from Anderson & CNN’s twelve viewers.”

Anderson is lashing out because Don decided to sit for an interview with ABC & their twelve million viewers but laughed at the interview request from Anderson & CNN’s twelve viewers. https://t.co/aWofJQCFkf — Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) September 18, 2018

CNN’s vice president of communications Matt Dornic got involved as well, prompting a response from both Schwartz and Trump Jr. adviser Andrew Surabian.

The only garbage I see is @AC360 outright lying about Don Jr. supposedly saying the viral pic was from Florence. He literally did no such thing. The "evidence" CNN provided on screen doesn't even reference Florence. You guys can't even fact check without spreading #FakeNews. — Andrew Surabian (@Surabees) September 18, 2018

Dear CNN PR hack – You're not very good at your job. I appreciate you posting Don's instagram post and again proving my point that there was zero reference to Florence. Please ask @AC360 to stop lying. Thank you. PS: Calling Don "Junior" doesn't make you a tough guy either. — Andrew Surabian (@Surabees) September 18, 2018

Two things are clear: you’re both lying about Don and Anderson is behaving like a petulant child — he’s pissed that Don laughed at his interview request a couple weeks ago. https://t.co/TmmzMwFZld — Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) September 18, 2018

Others at CNN are predictably circling their wagons to protect Cooper from criticism.

A Housing and Urban Development (HUD) official, Lynne Patton, posted a meme mocking Cooper, using the photo of him from Hurricane Ike to her Instagram account.

This prompted CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski to spring into action and start contacting HUD for comment.

On her verified Instagram, senior HUD official @LynnePattonHUD is spreading the lie Anderson Cooper faked a hurricane live shot. The photo is from Hurricane Ike, not Hurricane Florence, and Anderson was demonstrating how the water can be surprisingly deep in certain areas. pic.twitter.com/zpJKl9KJsK — andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) September 17, 2018

Patton also tweeted an obviously fake meme of Cooper in the water with a shark edited in in response to Kaczynski.

I asked HUD spox @Raffiwilliams for comment on the tweet falsely implying Anderson Cooper faked a live shot, the subsequent tweet at me, and the comment on Trump Jr’s post mocking Kavanaugh’s accuser’s claims. I have yet to hear back. pic.twitter.com/cPfPxxknzS — andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) September 17, 2018

Patton responded to Kaczynski in a tweet this morning reading, “As a volunteer in Katrina & Matthew, the assertion that I (or anyone from this Admin/family) would mock death is preposterous.”

“To discredit @KFILE’s false claim, I used a meme equally as ludicrous. I regret it was misinterpreted as insensitive & am honored to serve daily at HUD.”

https://twitter.com/LynnePatton/status/1042016082779885570

CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy is also joining in, not calling out Cooper for his obvious lie about Donald Trump Jr., instead accusing “far-right personalities” of “smearing” Cooper.

“To get this all straight: Far-right personalities spent all weekend smearing @ andersoncooper. Anderson responds on his program, thoroughly debunking the smears. Now the same far-right activists are characterizing Anderson as a snowflake for having the gall to debunk their lies,” Darcy tweeted.

To get this all straight: Far-right personalities spent all weekend smearing @andersoncooper. Anderson responds on his program, thoroughly debunking the smears. Now the same far-right activists are characterizing Anderson as a snowflake for having the gall to debunk their lies. — Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) September 18, 2018

CNN’s Ana Navarro also joined in, somehow pretending that by lying about Trump Jr. and calling him “Donny,” Cooper had come out winning.

Perhaps it’s moments like these that are leading to CNN’s continued ratings fall.