‘That Was Not A Debate!’ Mehdi Hasan Rips CNN Debate Moderators — But Liberal Pod Save Hosts Push Back

Former MSNBC host and current Zeteo News chief Mehdi Hasan ripped CNN’s debate moderators for not pushing ex-President Donald Trump hard enough or quickly enough — but Pod Save co-hosts pushed back.

The big story to emerge from CNN’s debate Thursday night was the panic after deadly early stumbles from President Joe Biden set the tone for debate coverage — though his performance improved as the debate went on. Brutal quotes from some Democrats and calls for Biden to drop out from his supporters in the media ensued.

The Pod Save America hosts — former Obama aides Jon Favreau , Tommy Vietor , Jon Lovett , and Dan Pfeiffer — delivered an absolutely brutal assessment of Biden’s performance, calling it a “fucking disaster”:

But another facet of the post-debate commentary has been the intense criticism over CNN’s execution of the decision not to have moderators fact-check the candidates when Trump rattled off as many as 50 falsehoods.

In an edition of Pod Save America Live this week, Hasan criticized moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash over their handling of Trump — but got pushback from Favreau and Lovett:

MEHDI HASAN: There were. There were two words missing from the 90 minutes last night. Project 2025. I would like — two of many…

But I would like the media to be talking about this. I would like the Democrats to be talking about this. I would like Trump to be put on the spot for what he plans to do in terms of putting the military on the streets and, ripping families apart, etc., etc., firing off the government.

MEHDI HASAN: And, you know, we have to ask some questions about the CNN debate coverage as well, right? I’m not going to defend Joe Biden’s performance, but it took them 39 minutes to mention the fact that the guy on stage is a convicted criminal. I would argue that should have been 39 seconds into the debate.

JON FAVREAU: I know, I know, but like, they probably I am sure that Jake and Dana were like, well, Joe Biden is debating a convicted felon. He’s probably going to bring that up on his own.

And relatively early in the debate, since no presidential. Candidate has ever debated a convicted felon before.

MEHDI HASAN: Biden failed in that. But and we can park that and say Biden failed at that. But the media’s role there, as ever, I mean, I’ve spent nine years trying to stop the normalization of Donald Trump and our media. I spent the last three years trying to stop the rehabilitation of Donald Trump in our media. I have failed miserably at both tasks, and I think last night’s debate was evidence of that.

Donald Trump is standing up there. In the first debate since he was impeached for trying to overturn American democracy, since he was found guilty for financial crimes, since he was adjudicated as a rapist by a judge in a civil trial.

And we opened with, what about the economy? As if this is like any other presidential debate! What the hell? (APPLAUSE).

And I I’m, by the way, by the way, Jon very kindly said, I’m a guy who likes to debate, I do.

That was not a debate! You can’t moderate a debate if you’re not moderating! There has to be some kind of fact checking. Donald Trump can’t say, hey, they’re trying to kill babies in Virginia. And then you go, “Thank you. Over to you, Joe Biden!”.

WHAT THE–

JON LOVETT: I just I just don’t I just like I fundamentally disagree with what we watch. There are plenty of times in that debate. Multiple times the moderators followed up. The question was about, the child tax credit or the question was about would you accept the election?

I think they went back and forth. I, I just think like, sure, in a debate, a live fire exercise like that, are they going to follow up at every moment?

No, but I do not believe– I do not believe any change in how that debate would was moderated, would have changed the outcome, because ultimately that was not a failure of moderation. That was a failure of Joe Biden.

Watch above via Pod Save America .