MSNBC Host Lawrence O’Donnell Rips ‘Breathtakingly Absurd’ CNN Rules for Debate

MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell criticized CNN’s “breathtakingly absurd” rules for its debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on Thursday.

“Let’s talk about the most absurd of the rules,” said O’Donnell ahead of CNN’s debate:

The idea that you’re gonna have commercial breaks and you cannot talk to staff or talk to anyone is breathtakingly absurd if you understand the job that we’re talking about here. The job of the presidency has advisers in the room all the time. You are never alone. So that is the crazy thing. The other thing that never happens in the Oval Office is someone runs in and says, “You have two minutes to tell me what your position is.” So the two minute thing is nutty, not having an opportunity to talk to advisers is nutty, all of that, because it has nothing to do with the job of the presidency.

You won’t see a single thing on display tonight, except demeanor, that has anything to do with the job of the presidency. If I was running this, they would get the questions in advance. I want your best answer, not the thing that comes off the top of your head. You could have as many staff people as you want out there, you could have your secretary of state, you have anyone you want. You might have an incentive for appearance purposes to have as few as possible, because of the way that would look. I want all of the staff mic’d, so that when you want to consult with them, I want to hear what advice they give you and what advice you reject and what advice you accept, and then we are getting close to what the job actually is.

MSNBC host Joy Reid, meanwhile, criticized CNN’s microphone muting policy.

“I think the mute button is the worst of the things, the rules,” she said. “I worry that muting him [Trump] gives him the opportunity to appear more stable than he really is. It makes him seem more normal because you won’t be able to hear him freak out, which he will freak out.”

Several cable news hosts have made the same argument, including Fox News’ Sean Hannity and Larry Kudlow, and NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd.

Watch above via CNN.