Ben Carson Proposes Debate Format Change After CNBC Backlash

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

GOP presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson proposed a debate structure change following the backlash against the CNBC debate moderators’ liberal-leaning questioning Wednesday night.

“Carson called for more speaking times for candidates and for the next debates to have ‘moderators who are interested in actually getting the facts and not gotcha questions’ following a debate in Colorado that sparked widespread criticism of CNBC’s moderators,” reported The Hill.

Ben Carson said he had his staff reach out to other campaigns to see if they would want to change the format of debates, so each candidate could have a certain amount of time to each address their policy proposals.

“These gotcha type questions are not very helpful in terms of helping the people understand who the candidates are,” Carson said on Fox News during an interview with Bill O’Reilly.

“Even the RNC will recognize that was a mistake,” Carson said of the CNBC debate, adding that it’s important to give Republicans an advantage rather than the other party.

Carson said he realized how slanted the CNBC debate was with “the launch of the Cruz missile,” referencing Sen. Ted Cruz’s stand-out moment, slamming the CNBC moderators for their attack style of questioning.

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