Democratic Town Hall: 5 Bonkers Moments From The CNN Event [VIDEO]
As you scroll through your Twitter feed and browse headlines this morning, you're probably noticing quite a bit from democratic presidential candidates and more than likely asking yourself: "Uh, was there a democratic debate last night?"
Actually, no. With exactly one week left to go before the Iowa Caucus, CNN held a town hall with the three democrats angling for their party's nomination, where each candidate answered questions (pre-screened by CNN) from Iowa voters.
It was actually added at the last minute and CNN announced it less than a week ago. So if you completely missed it, don't worry, you're not alone. But man did you miss out on one of the more bizarre political events of the season. Sure, it wasn't as nutso as anything from the GOP camp or featuring Trump, but it was still pretty crazy.
Here are just 5 off-the-wall aspects from the CNN's Democratic Town Hall:
Fox News Covered It Best
There have been a LOTS of accusations this primary season that the Democratic party is rigging the game to ensure Hillary Clinton gets the nomination (seriously, just scroll through r/SandersForPresident). But after last night, many may now be wondering if CNN is in on the conspiracy. Hillary had no trouble answering what appeared to be softball questions, while moderator Chris Cuomo seemed to push her biggest challenger, Bernie Sanders, on followup questions harder than anyone else. It came across as so one sided that many users on the Reddit live thread for the event claimed to be tuning into Fox New for better coverage...and which SURPRISINGLY was pretty good. As one Reddit user wrote "Donald Trump is leading in polls, a 74 year old is mostly popular in the youth, and Fox News is giving the most fair and balanced coverage on the Democratic nomination...What dimension did I wake up in?"
CNN "Reality Checks" Bernie's Athleticism
The ability to fact-check a politician has never been quicker (thanks, Internet!). So when candidates are put in situations where they make statements about policy or arguments citing instances in the public record, members of the media are able to verify, disqualify or explain the murkiness of the statements. CNN's punny titled department dedicated to such exercises was in full force last night, updating throughout the debate various claims made by the candidates. But it was kind of ridiculousness when they chose to verify Bernie Sanders' statement that was he was a "good athlete" in high school. In case you're wondering, they scored the claim as "True."
"My Friends Think You're Dishonest
Probably the moment of the night came when an audience member of the much coveted youth demographic stood up and asked Clinton to respond to the criticism that's cost her most with young voters: her transparency. It was probably one of the most brazen questions that's been asked of a candidate so far in the run-up to the 2016 election, and Clinton's response, while polished and reasonable, was pretty safe and canned.
"I Can See Why They Gave You This Question"
There's nothing worse than fumbling how to address someone, and it's especially worse when it's someone famous. But if it's also on live national TV? Ugh, that's pretty rough. But that's the spot that Iowan Brett Rosengren found himself in when he asked Clinton which previous president inspired her. The fumble fueled plenty of speculation that the questions were planted. But Rosengren explained on twitter that it was his own question for the option to be answered by all candidates.
Also, he said that he'll be caucusing for O'Malley after last night.
People REALLY Like Seeing Martin O'Malley Remove His Jacket
Top Tweeted moment for @MartinOMalley from @CNN #DemTownHall: O'Malley makes a joke and removes jacket. https://t.co/J8sfhJmEE7 — Twitter Government (@gov) January 26, 2016
Oh yeah, and besides Clinton and Sanders, Martin O'Malley was there. The democrat's new resident third wheel made the case for his youthfulness (he's 53), stressed the danger of climate change, and even got a few jabs in about Trump. But it was taking his jacket off that seemed to REALLY get the crowd excited.