CNN host John King, moderator of Thursday night’s Republican presidential debate, took a lot of heat for the timing of a question he posed to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich about an interview with his ex-wife that aired on ABC’s “Nightline” after the debate.
But the criticism isn’t just coming from the outside, but also from within CNN. During “CNN Newsroom” on Friday, “Reliable Sources” host Howard Kurtz, who is also contributor to The Daily Beast, said King’s opening salvo in the debate was a misstep.
“Newt Gingrich probably won the debate in those opening moments,” Kurtz said. “And I must say that I thought it was a misstep for John King, who is a fair and seasoned and balanced reporter, to make that the very first question of the debate.”
“Everything that happened after that, even when Mitt Romney stumbled about his tax return, was indeed an afterthought,” he added.
Kurtz then described the interview that aired on ABC as something of a late hit and said the timing was destined to gin up complaints about media bias.
“The timing does not look good for those who believe the media are biased or out to hurt the Republicans,” he said. “I think ABC News should have done the story much earlier or done it next week. When you drop a bombshell like that, though even though the allegations are recycled, so close to the voting, it does I think in an unintentional way create sympathy for Newt Gingrich who is already surging in the South Carolina polls.”