*Earlier this week, CBS anchors Norah O’Donnell and Gayle King were viciously slammed online for “losing control” of Tuesday night’s Democratic debate.
As moderators of the event, the CBS Evening News anchor and the CBS This Morning co-anchor were called out for their inability to keep the candidates in line.
“These moderators might be the weakest moderators I’ve seen in a debate. They have absolutely no control over who is speaking and they are forcing candidates to steamroll them if they want any speaking time. This is a trainwreck,” writer Josh Jordan declared.
“The View” co-host Meghan McCain also weighed in on Twitter: “These moderators need to get this under control. This is way worse than any bad day @TheView hot topics table. At least Whoopi has the bell.”
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This DISASTROUS #DemDebate for Norah O’Donnell and Gayle King, summed up in 13 seconds with this epic FAIL of miscommunication pic.twitter.com/L1B5L79345
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 26, 2020
According to Page Six, a TV source at the event said the pair, “left the Gaillard Center amid tension following the broadcast, although other insiders deny this, saying they later got together with the crew for drinks,” the outlet writes.
An insider said, “There has been a lot of finger-pointing going on. There were issues with the teleprompter and the cues.” Another said, “It was a glimpse into the dynamic between Gayle and Norah.” A third source added, “This debate really got out of control because there were too many cooks in the kitchen. Everybody had their own producers. It was a total train wreck with too many egos. Nobody was in full control.”
These moderators were a total mess last night. Here they are at the end: Norah O’Donnell says the debate’s over, and then Gayle King says it’s not actually over. Then there was a commercial break, and when they came back, they said the debate was over. Lol. #DemDebateSC pic.twitter.com/6yeWCQVJoA
— Sally Hunt? (@sallyhunt666) February 26, 2020
Via Page Six:
One source added that CBS News president Susan Zirinsky held a call with the news division and said they should all be proud of their work on the debate, and that it was the candidates who were really fired up. Another debate source also blamed the candidates, saying, “Tom Perez at the DNC has to rein in the candidates. It was a disgrace. It was like ‘Saturday Night Live’ on steroids.”
New York Times writer Michael M. Grynbaum tweeted: “CBS needs this break more than the candidates. That was a chaotic start. The moderators need to step in more forcefully and regain control in the next segment.”
“I deeply admire both of these moderators incredibly but wish our team at PBS @NewsHour had a shot at this one … Longing for a little more chill and a lot more thought,” PBS NewsHour correspondent Lisa Desjardins said.
“Does CBS have a buzzer or something to organize this??? What’s going on?” MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski asked.
“Moderators are doing an absolutely awful job. I get that it’s hard to contain the six candidates who are rabidly going after Bernie Sanders but they need to take the reins,” The Young Turks host Emma Vigeland said.
“Awful moderating,” Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin stated simply.
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