Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee was not just miffed at the lack of time he got during the CNN Republican debate, he came up with a crazy conspiracy theory to justify it.
On The O’Reilly Factor, host Bill O’Reilly noted that Huckabee was second to last in speaking time with only Governor Scott Walker getting less. “What do you think about that?” O’Reilly asked guest Huckabee.
Huckabee was understandably frustrated but unlike Governor John Kasich, who handled his disappointment graciously during a previous segment on The Factor, Huckabee came across as sour:
HUCKABEE: There were times I wasn’t sure if I was at a CNN debate or if I was standing in line at the DMV. I’ve been stuck in L.A. traffic and wasted less time than standing on that stage for three hours last night getting three questions. Three questions! It was very frustrating and I think that the viewers of America were cheated out of a real opportunity to hear people running for president talking about some important issues. Instead, it was all if I was willing to take a shot at somebody.
If I was willing to trash somebody, I would have gotten a lot of time but I don’t think it’s my place, Bill, to try to see if I can disparage the other Republicans on that same stage.
O’Reilly moved on to “get to the ‘why’ of all of this.” Of course, if O’Reilly was really interested in the “why,” he would have interviewed someone from CNN and not one of the disaffected debaters who obviously had no idea about the “why.”
It seemed a fair assessment for O’Reilly to conclude that CNN “wanted to get everybody yelling at everybody.” But then he dubiously conjectured that either CNN “wanted good TV” or “they wanted to damage the Republican infrastructure.”
Huckabee said he thought it could have been either. But then he came up with his own conspiracy theory.
HUCKABEE: I think maybe – and look, I may be a conspiracy theorist here, Bill, but for six and a half years I was on the Fox network beating their rear ends every weekend in ratings and maybe this was their way of paying back. I don’t know. I’m just saying it could be. Who knows?
Huckabee went on to make some good points, that there should have been a discussion about Social Security and infrastructure, for example, which happen to be two areas in which he takes a populist position.
However, Fox News was also extremely unequal in its treatment of the candidates during its debate. According to NPR, Donald Trump had more than twice the speaking time (10:30) than Scott Walker (4:51). It was also clear that Fox News deliberately worked to embarrass Trump and trip him up. But in that debate, Huckabee got the third most time.
I don’t remember Huckabee complaining about that unfairness, do you? I may be a conspiracy theorist but maybe Huckabee wouldn’t want to bite the hand that fed him and that he may want to feed him again after he drops out of the race. I’m just saying.
Watch him above, from the September 17 The O’Reilly Factor.
Crossposted at News Hounds.
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