Democratic Debate: Technical Failures Force NBC to Cut to Commercial

NBC News was forced to cut to a commercial break during the first 2020 Democrat presidential debate after due to technical difficulties.

As debate moderators Rachel Maddow and Chuck Todd took over Wednesday for the next round of the debate, the 10 candidates on stage were unable to hear the question Todd was trying to ask about the federal government’s role in getting guns off the street.

Following back-and-forth confusion, Todd announced the debate would head to a commercial break.

It wasn’t immediately clear what happened.

President Donald Trump tweeted that debate hosts NBC and MSNBC “should be ashamed of themselves for having such a horrible technical breakdown in the middle of the debate.”

.@NBCNews and @MSNBC should be ashamed of themselves for having such a horrible technical breakdown in the middle of the debate. Truly unprofessional and only worthy of a FAKE NEWS Organization, which they are!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 27, 2019

“Truly unprofessional and only worthy of a FAKE NEWS Organization, which they are!” the president added.

He is en route to Osaka, Japan, for the Group of 20 summit.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is center stage for the debate in Miami as she leads the night’s field in polling. the left-wing lawmaker is flanked by former Rep. Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke (D-TX) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ). At the far ends are New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) and former Rep. John Delaney (D-MD), who are polling at the bottom of the group.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.