Former Republican Senator Rick Santorum interrupted female CNN analyst Gloria Borger when she was trying to explain the optics of Vice President Mike Pence constantly interrupting US Senator Kamala Harris during the Vice-Presidential debate on Wednesday.
The Wednesday debate was more courteous than last week's Presidential debate, during which Donald Trump interrupted Joe Biden 71 times. Democratic vice-presidential candidate Harris told Pence "Mr Vice-President, I'm speaking. I'm speaking,"— as he tried to interrupt when she was discussing Trump's tax plans.
Borger went on criticizing Pence During CNN's post-debate panel, on which she was the only female panelist. She began to praise Harris's composure and also explained what such interruptions might signal to female viewers. But the former GOP Sen. Santorum loudly cut off Borger to make a counterpoint.
'I Am Speaking'
The female analyst said of 2020 Democratic VP candidate, "That's hard when you're getting interrupted constantly." Borger also said that "Maybe she did create a meme" by saying that "Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking," and Harris kept saying that to Pence "as if to say, 'I'm not finished,' and then he would sort of plow ahead."
She then added that the female viewers watching that debate "are going to say, 'wait a minute..." But Santorum suddenly cut off Borger and started saying that "Don't make the claim that he interrupted her repeatedly, because he did not." Borger then responded saying, "Mr. Santorum, I'm speaking."
After the CNN video went popular on social media, April Reign, co-founder of a campaign to appoint the first woman of color to the Supreme Court wrote on Twitter, " Santorum interrupted the woman on the @CNN panel to tell her that Pence didn't interrupt Kamala. With absolutely no irony or self-awareness."
A staff writer at the New Yorker, Patrick Radden Keefe tweeted that "Amazing moment just now on CNN where Gloria Borger, the sole woman on a panel with 4 men, starts to explain what it was like for women to watch Kamala get repeatedly interrupted but can't finish because the men on the panel interrupt her. And she says "Mr. Santorum, I'm talking."
Trump Backs Out of Virtual Debate
However, as the organizers of the next presidential debate decided to take the next Trump-Biden debate virtually due to the President's diagnosis of COVID-19, Trump vowed not to take part in the next week's debate. He told the Fox Business News that he is "not going to do a virtual debate," after the changes were announced.
Bill Stepien, Trump campaign manager said in a statement, "For the swamp creatures at the Presidential Debate Commission to now rush to Joe Biden's defense by unilaterally canceling an in-person debate is pathetic." He also added that the health safety of all involved people can easily be achieved without canceling a chance for the US voters to witness both the candidates go head to head. "We'll pass on this sad excuse to bail out Joe Biden and do a rally instead," he said.
