Joe Concha: Everything changes after NV debate
Media reporter Joe Concha told 'Fox & Friends' watching the ninth presidential debate in Las Vegas, Nevada was comparable to watching the 'Red Wedding' episode on HBO's 'Game of Thrones.'
The ninth 2020 presidential debate in Las Vegas looked more like HBO's "Game of Thrones'" Red Wedding episode than an actual discussion, media reporter Joe Concha said Thursday.
During former three-term New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg's debut appearance on the debate stage, his fellow Democratic candidates did not pull any punches in taking on the billionaire.
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Appearing on "Fox & Friends" with hosts Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, and Brian Kilmeade, Concha said that while the evening was entertaining for "political junkies," it was less so for Bloomberg, who was "not ready."
"There was rust," said Concha, who covers media for The Hill. "I had notes from last night that I was taking as I was tweeting throughout this. Here are the words I used: Unsteady, unnerved, deer in the headlights, unrelatable, rusty, rehearsed, inauthentic, [and] out of place."
From left, Democratic presidential candidates, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.,former Vice President Joe Biden, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., stand on stage before a Democratic presidential primary debate Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, in Las Vegas, hosted by NBC News and MSNBC. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren -- standing directly beside Bloomberg -- warned Democrats they would "take a huge risk" by substituting "one arrogant billionaire for another."
She said the field is running against somebody "who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians -- and no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump, I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg."
"We are not going to win if we have a nominee who has a history of hiding his tax returns, of harassing women, and of supporting racist policies like redlining and stop and frisk," she added to cheers from the crowd. Bloomberg strongly denied supporting redlining, or systematically denying services to certain neighborhoods.
Concha said Bloomberg was in an "indefensible" position after some of his more controversial comments -- attacking multiple groups -- were unearthed last week.
"It was like the Red Wedding, where they took off the gloves and actually went after each other," said Concha. "But, they are lacking gravitas."
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Concha told the "Friends" hosts that while Warren and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar got the most speaking time and Bloomberg got the least, overall, he "still [doesn't] know what the message of the Democrats is from an optimism perspective. Because you always win on optimism."
That said, when it comes to Bloomberg's position in the 2020 race, Concha predicted: "Everything changes now."
Fox News' Gregg Re, Paul Steinhauser in Las Vegas and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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