Bemused, Frustrated Reactions Abound After CNN's Ellen DeGeneres Question at Last Night's Democratic Debate
As part of the last question in Tuesday night’s Democratic primary debate, CNN’s Anderson Cooper brought up the recent controversy over comedian Ellen DeGeneres’ friendship with former President George W. Bush.
“Last week, Ellen DeGeneres was criticized after she and former President George W. Bush were seen laughing together at a football game. Ellen defended their friendship,” Cooper noted, adding, “So in that spirit, we’d like you tell us about a friendship that you’ve had that would surprise us, and what impacts it’s had on you and your beliefs.”
DeGeneres, who is openly gay, has faced criticism for laughing with the former President whose record includes the Iraq War and supporting a constitutional amendment to explicitly ban gay marriage. She responded last week on her show that she’s “friends with George Bush,” adding, “In fact, I’m friends with a lot of people who don’t share the same beliefs that I have. We’re all different and I think that we’ve forgotten that that’s okay.”
The 2020 Democratic candidates all engaged with the question, many listing prominent Republican politicians as his or her unlikely friend; Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar said the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, California Sen. Kamala Harris said Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbardsaid former South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy.
But some have criticized the moderators for choosing to discuss DeGeneres’ controversial friendship, which they argued is a frivolous topic, rather than focusing on crucial issues like climate change or voter suppression that had so far gone undiscussed.
There are a lot of people I would refuse to be friends with. One of them is whoever decided to end the debate with this Ellen question.
— jay smooth (@jsmooth995) October 16, 2019
the world: [literally on fire]
anderson cooper: lol did u guys see ellen— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) October 16, 2019
So we asked about Ellen but not about immigration. OK. Got it. #DemDebate
— Julissa GREAT IMMIGRANT Arce (@julissaarce) October 16, 2019
Questions on:
-Puerto Rico: 0
-Police Violence: 0
-#MeToo: 0
-Climate Justice: 0
-White Supremacy: 0
-Affordable Housing: 0
-Student Debt: 0
-Ellen DeGeneres and George W. Bush being friends: 1— Draculeah Greenberg (@Leahgreenb) October 16, 2019
“But then Reese DELETED her tweet. But Ellen’s heart emojis are still up. So what do you think about that?”
— Jen Statsky (@jenstatsky) October 16, 2019
"Should Ellen be canceled? Answer the question, senator."
— ryan teague beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) October 16, 2019
When you're eight hours into the debate and Anderson Cooper asks a question about Ellen pic.twitter.com/19orEhk50U
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) October 16, 2019
I’ve zoned out. This question was about Ellen?
— Zerlina Maxwell (@ZerlinaMaxwell) October 16, 2019
Some Presidential candidates and other prominent Democratic politicians also took to Twitter to express their frustration.
Three hours and no questions tonight about climate, housing, or immigration.
Climate change is an existential threat. America has a housing crisis. Children are still in cages at our border.
But you know, Ellen.#DemocraticDebate— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) October 16, 2019
Not one single question about the climate crisis.
Not one single question about the climate crisis.
Not one single question about the climate crisis.
This is the existential crisis of our time. Not one single question, and that’s completely inexcusable. #DemDebate— Jay Inslee (@JayInslee) October 16, 2019
My answer to this Ellen question is that Republicans are trying to take your health care away.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) October 16, 2019