Insiders close to production of Tuesday’s CBS-hosted Democratic Debate, which was widely panned for being “chaotic,” are blaming “egos” as one of the main reasons it got unruly.
Most of the finger pointing is at moderators Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell, who formerly co-hosted CBS This Morning together. The pair presided over the Democratic debate on CBS Tuesday night, which multiple TV insiders described as “a train wreck.”
According to the NY Post, the debate “was a glimpse into the dynamic between Gayle and Norah.”
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One source who was on the scene at the Charleston, South Carolina venue said King and O’Donnell left “amid tension following the broadcast,” while other sources disputed this and said they got together for drinks after the broadcast.
“There has been a lot of finger-pointing going on. There were issues with the teleprompter and the cues… 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,” according to NY Post sources.
However, CBS News president Susan Zirinsky reportedly praised her team during a post-debate conference call, saying they should all be proud of the work they did. The blame for any hiccups or disorganization seemed to be shifted to the candidates behavior and DNC chief Tom Perez.
MSNBC’s Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski and CNN’s Van Jones were among the media figures who criticized the debate’s unruliness via Twitter.
“Does CBS have a buzzer or something to organize this??? What’s going on?,” tweeted Brzezinski.
Van Jones tweeted: ‘Wayyyy too much time was wasted at tonight’s #DemDebates on a bunch of guys yelling at each other over and over and over and over again. Do you agree?”
Roland Martin told YouTube show Status Coup: “The moderators allowed it to get totally out of control.”
