Elections

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Accuses REPUBLICANS Of Hiding Their Debates

(REUTERS/Joe Skipper)

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Blake Neff Reporter
Font Size:

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairwoman [crscore]Debbie Wasserman Schultz[/crscore] tweeted Saturday night suggesting the Republican Party was “trying to hide” a debate by scheduling it on the same weekend as the Super Bowl. Wasserman Schultz’s attack showed a remarkable lack of awareness, as it comes after a campaign season where the DNC has repeatedly been criticized for trying to make their debates as few and low-key as possible.

The Republican debate this weekend, the last before the New Hampshire primary, is scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday night, generally not considered premier television territory. Wasserman Schultz seized on the fact few people are likely to watch this debate by saying this was deliberately planned by the GOP.

But despite Wasserman Schultz’s rhetoric, it isn’t Republicans who have been concealing their debates this cycle. Initially, the DNC scheduled only 6 debates for the entire 2016 primary cycle, and most of them were placed at awkward times. Their fourth debate, for instance, was held Jan. 17, on a Sunday night preceding a federal holiday. Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Governor Martin O’Malley both criticized the debate schedule, saying the limited debates were intended to ease former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s path towards the nomination. Only this week did Sanders and Clinton broker a deal to hold four extra debates before the end of the cycle. (RELATED: Is This Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s Worst Lie Yet?) 

Of the original six debates scheduled by the DNC, only four were held before the Iowa caucuses. In contrast, the Republicans held seven debates before Iowa, and all of them were held on a weekday in primetime. Saturday’s debate is the first one to be held on a weekend, meaning that if the GOP is trying to hide, it only started doing so now.

Despite the disparity, Wasserman Schultz has tried to claim that she attempted to make the debates as frequent and as visible as possible.

“I did my best to make sure, along with my staff and along with our debate partners, to come up with a schedule that we felt was going to allow for the — to maximize the opportunity for voters to see our candidates,” she told The New York Times in January.

But even other Democrats didn’t believe her, with an O’Malley spokesperson telling The Daily Caller News Foundation that the DNC deliberately worked to hide debates on weekends.

As a result, other Twitter users didn’t buy Wasserman Schultz’s attack and she endured a healthy dose of ridicule instead. Much of the ridicule came from other Democrats and liberals, who pointed out the strong irony of her remarks.

Follow Blake on Twitter

Send tips to blake@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.