Youngkin blasts former Gov. McAuliffe for walking out of interview
Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Younkin says Terry McAuliffe is 'losing it' after abruptly ending an interview and criticizing a reporter.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe took aim at Glenn Youngkin for not taking "tough questions" from MSNBC just one day after the former governor went viral for bailing on a reporter mid-interview.
Toward the end of his interview on "Morning Joe," co-host Joe Scarborough acknowledged to McAuliffe that Youngkin has yet to accept the invitation to appear on his show.
"Your opponent is, again – he's avoiding us. He's scared to come on the show I guess," Scarborough said.
"We've tried!" co-host Mika Brzezinski interjected.
"I want to ask you right now if we’re going to ask him again if he would debate you- questions straight down the middle for both of you guys. If he will accept a debate on 'Morning Joe,' will you come on the show and debate him here?" Scarborough asked.
"Anytime, anywhere you want, you want to do a 24/7 special, I’ll do it," McAuliffe responded. "He’s been invited on – I think I’ve done six, 10 shows in the last week. Every single show says the same thing at the end. ‘We invited Glenn Youngkin, he refuses' – You are running for governor! He’s got to quit hiding. He wouldn’t debate me for months. I mean, it is just insane. You are running for governor. How can you not answer tough questions?"
"You’re running for office. You got to stand up. You got to show up. Quit being a chicken," McAuliffe later added.
CNN, MSNBC AVOID MCAULIFFE'S TV INTERVIEW STORM-OFF WHERE HE CRITICIZED REPORTER'S QUESTIONS
Youngkin campaign spokeswoman Macaulay Porter dismissed McAuliffe's comments, telling Fox News, "Terry needed a therapy session after his disastrous week, and everyone knows how much he relies on Mika."
In this combination photo, Virginia gubernatorial candidates, Democrat Terry McAuliffe left, and Republican Glenn Youngkin appear during the Virginia FREE leadership luncheon, in McLean, Va., on Sept. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen) (AP Photo/Cliff Owen | AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
McAuliffe's jabs at Youngkin came following an interview with a local Virginia station that the Democrat abruptly ended after 10 minutes despite it being a 20-minute sitdown, which Youngkin participated in full.
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"So if you watch those entire interviews on our website, we do want to point out that the Terry McAuliffe interview is shorter than our interview with Glenn Youngkin. That was not by our doing," WJLA anchor Jonathan Elias told viewers during Tuesday's evening newscast.
"[WJLA reporter Nick Minock] offered both candidates 20 minutes exactly to be fair for the interviews. McAuliffe abruptly ended 7News' interview after just 10 minutes and told Nick that he should have asked better questions and that Nick should have asked questions 7News viewers care about. That's what he said."
"Morning Joe" failed to ask McAuliffe about the viral moment, which was completely ignored by MSNBC as well as CNN.
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