Unprepared Gideon stumped by a basic question on live TV
Following debate flop, Gideon disappeared from public view for 6 days
Members of the press:
Sara Gideon was asked a simple question during Friday’s debate - would she have confirmed Chief Justice John Roberts?
The debate stumble on the topic of Supreme Court confirmations, which Gideon cites as a motivating factor for her to enter the race, is particularly jarring.
It’s clear that the stark moment made Gideon’s campaign manager, Chuck Schumer, nervous: Gideon does not appear to have held any campaign events since Friday’s debate, and still hasn’t responded to Senator Susan Collins’ July 15th challenge for 16 debates - one in each of Maine’s 16 counties.
In fact, as far as we know, Gideon has only said she’ll participate in two more debates.
The mistake displayed Gideon’s lack of preparedness for the position she’s seeking. Her disappearance from public view highlighted that the safest bet for the national Democrats running her campaign is to hide her from voters, behind millions of dollars of slickly produced TV ads, which means many relevant questions about her character and policy beliefs remain unanswered.
Ad transcript:
Is Sara Gideon ready for primetime?
Susan Collins asked Sara Gideon if she would have voted to confirm the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
“Would she have voted for Justice Roberts?” (Senator Collins)
John Roberts has been Chief Justice for 15 years.
Sara Gideon was stumped.
“Would you?” (debate moderator Pat Callaghan)
*pause* “Um..I...Believe.. I would have to fully study and be able to answer that….” (Gideon)
Sara Gideon: not ready for prime time.