Debate moderator hits back at Boebert attacks: ‘This debate is not about me!’

A far-right congresswoman infamous for spreading racist lies about her political enemies decided to take on a debate moderator instead of her opponent on Saturday.

Rep Lauren Boebert clashed with her Democratic opponent Aaron Fritsch in a televised debate Saturday evening in her Colorado district but reserved some of her most memorable attacks for the moderator, Edie Sonn, who is a local official.

As the debate began, Ms Boebert tried to get Ms Sonn to admit to supporting her Democratic opponent in 2020 — though it is unclear what she hoped to gain by proving that point.

"Edie, can you please disclose to the audience that you publicly supported my 2020 Democrat candidate Dianne Mitch Bush, and can you please disclose any other roles that you have had with Democrat candidates in the past?" she asked.

The comment prompted boos from the audience, which apparently wasn’t interested in watching the congresswoman dodge tough questions.

Ms Sonn did not play along.

"Congresswoman Boebert, this is not about me tonight,” she responded. “This is about you and your opponent. I am here to ask, to be the traffic cop while these panelists ask questions and I respectfully ask that you respectfully agree to the terms of this debate.”

"If you will not do so, then we can close things down right now,” she added, which caused Ms Boebert to relent and participate in the debate without further complaints.

The controversial far-right congresswoman is known for vicious, racist attacks aimed in particular at Ilhan Omar, a Black Muslim congresswoman from Minnesota. The Colorado Republican frequently refers to her as a “jihadi”, a racist reference to Islamic terrorists.

An internal poll released by her campaign in August showed the conservative Ms Boebert leading her Democratic opponent by less than 10 points.