NewsNation anchor Chris Cuomo chastised CBS News vice presidential debate moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan for inserting themselves into the conversation rather than simply letting the scene play itself out.
Cuomo gave his feedback after the Tuesday night debate — between Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) and Senator JD Vance (R-OH) — was over, and he focused on one exchange between Vance and the moderators. In that specific instance, despite announcing prior to the debate that they would not fact-check the candidates, they had opted to interrupt and challenge Vance anyway — and when he rebutted that challenge, he was in the right.
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Chris Cuomo: "At one point, Vance wanted to correct something about how Haitians got into this country and he was RIGHT and the moderators wouldn't let him correct it." pic.twitter.com/qwg0WDizfX
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“When they were talking, at one point, Vance wanted to correct something about how Haitians got into this country and he was right and the moderators wouldn’t let him correct it,” Cuomo said. “It’s very interesting.”
Cuomo then rolled a clip from the debate showing the exchange in question and argued that the moderators had disrupted what could have been an informative conversation between the two candidates and had instead made themselves the story.
Both Brennan and O’Donnell repeatedly interrupted Vance and talked over him, trying to move on to the next topic. “We’re going to turn now to the economy, thank you,” O’Donnell said.
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“The rules were that you guys weren’t going to fact-check, and since you’re fact-checking me, I think it’s important to say what’s actually going on.”
When he went on to lay out the facts, they interrupted him again. “Thank you, Senator … thank you, Senator, for describing the legal process …” Brennan interjected, adding, “We have so much to get to, Senator.”
When Walz cut in briefly, Brennan immediately stopped talking so that he could be heard, but when Vance pushed back, they cut off the candidates’ microphones.
“Vance was right, okay? There’s nuance to it, but the bigger problem is why he was moved on? ‘We’ve got so much to get to.’ Says who?” Cuomo objected. “What is the schedule here? You have a list of topics? That’s not what this is about. It’s about how the American people can access these two men and the two theories and the narratives and you’ve got to let them have their speak, because now you created a story where you’re the problem.”
