CNN prime time anchor Chris Cuomo said the Democratic Party does not “have its head right” after watching the Democratic presidential debates this week.
Late night host Seth Meyers pointed out that 2020 front-runner Joe Biden was cornered into defending the Obama administration’s policies on healthcare and immigration. He asked Cuomo if that surprised him.
“No, because I think this party does not have its head right,” Cuomo said on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers. “I want to do tonight, the questions for the Democrats. My first question is, ‘Why are you doing this? What is this? What were you doing?’ Is it, ‘I know more about healthcare that I can title differently than your plan that’s almost the exact same as my plan but I won’t explain it that way because I’m not really sure what it is?’ Is that the why?”
He continued, “You should still right now be obsessed with convincing Americans that you understand what they are experiencing right now. Why it is unacceptable to them and why they are desperate for better. Two reasons, one, that’s what beat your ass the last time, is your inability to do that. And that’s what we need as leadership but, I don’t see it on the stage. I didn’t see it either night and I watched the whole time.”
Meyers pushed back on Cuomo arguing the debate worked that way as a result of the questions asked by the moderators, who are his colleagues at CNN.
Cuomo is the younger brother of the Democratic governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo.
In one tense, viral moment in which Biden defended Obama’s record, he was asked if his presidency would result in high numbers of deportations rivaling that of the previous administration. Hecklers interrupted his response, screaming, “3 million deportations!” in reference to the number of people deported under the last administration.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also hit Biden for the deportations under Obama, asking him if he tried to stop them from happening. In response, Biden said he keeps his advice to the president private.
