Almost three hours into the Democratic debate Tuesday night, neither the presidential candidates nor viewers seemed all too impressed when CNN host Anderson Cooper wrapped up the night with a question about Ellen DeGeneres and George W. Bush’s friendship ― despite not bringing up climate change once.
“Last week, Ellen Degeneres was criticised after she and former President George W. Bush were seen laughing together at a football game. Ellen defended their friendship, saying, ‘We’re all different and I think that we’ve forgotten that that’s OK, that we’re all different,’” Cooper said at the conclusion of the debate. “So in that spirit, we’d like you to tell us about a friendship that you’ve had that would surprise us and what impacts it’s had on you and your beliefs.”
“The Daily Show” was quick to mock the moment with a picture of the faces of Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden:
Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, who was the first to answer the question on stage, tweeted several suggestions for a more useful question:
California Senator Kamala Harris, another candidate on the stage, also tweeted to point out issues that were neglected:
And Washington Governor Jay Inslee, who dropped out of the presidential race earlier this year after launching a campaign focused around climate action, also had something to say:
Viewers on Twitter weren’t too pleased with the question either, given immigration, climate change, housing poverty, LGBTQ issues and various other topics were entirely neglected in the Tuesday night debate: