The hashtag #LetYangSpeak started trending on Twitter Friday morning after Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang claimed in a post-debate video that his microphone was not operating properly during Thursday night’s Democratic primary debate.
When Yang was told by supporters that he should have talked more during the debate, the entrepreneur claimed his mic was likely being turned off and on by production, noting that he tried to offer his take during a few topics but his “mic was off.”
“There were also a few times, FYI, where I just started talking, to be like, ‘hey, I wanna add something there,’ and my mic was not on,” he said, adding, “I was talking and nothing was happening, and I was like, ah, f***.”
“You should jump in—” a supporter shouted.
“I agree, and again, there were times when I was like, I wanna make a contribution on Climate Change, or education, or other things and my mic didn’t work — your mic is actually not on,” Yang claimed. “So I would just start talking, and then like the moderators were just like, ignore him, it doesn’t matter.”
“So the moderators have a fair amount of power and authority,” he continued, “including someone in production turning on a mic or not. “
“I agree with you that like I should be interjecting and making more contributions, and I’ll certainly look to do that in the next debate, but there were at least a few times where I tried to do that tonight, where I quite literally felt someone sort of mechanically restrict[ed me],” he added.
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Yang also addressed the supposed issue via Twitter, writing in a “reflection” post-debate: “I feel bad for those who tuned in to see and support me that I didn’t get more airtime. Will do better (my mic being off unless called on didn’t help) and glad to have another opportunity in July (and afterwards)!”
One Yang supporter on Twitter posted a video allegedly evidencing “proof” that Yang was “muted.” In the clip, it appears the candidate is trying to jump in on an answer from Sen Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
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Yang, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, has been an outsider from the jump, gaining traction from folks across the political spectrum, including young, disaffected Trump supporters. The candidate’s signature policy, as reported by The Daily Wire’s Josh Hammer on Thursday, “is a universal basic income proposal — which Yang calls a ‘Freedom Dividend’ — whereby every American receives $1,000 a month.”
Yang is currently polling at 0-3% support, and his minimal speaking on Thursday night can’t stand to help him, rigged mic or not.
Yang recently sat down and spoke with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro: