Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang is not happy about the Democratic debate last night, claiming his microphone was “not on” a few times when he attempted to jump into the political melee.
In a series of tweets, the entrepreneur turned candidate, who is building his platform on what he calls “human-centered capitalism,” said when he tried to chime in, he realized his microphone was not on and he wasn’t able to make his points.
Yang isn’t just being like that annoying Jeopardy contestant who claims his buzzer wasn’t working and that’s why he lost to James Holzhauer. According to a post-debate analysis by The Hill, Yang actually did have the least amount of speaking time out of all the candidates. The candidate had a mere 2 minutes and 50 seconds of speaking time to try and convince Democratic voters that he should be the party’s nominee in 2020, per the analysis.
Of course, when there are 10 candidates on stage, no one gets a lot of time to lay out their policies, but former vice president Joe Biden managed to elbow his way into 12 minutes and 53 seconds, while Senator Kamala Harris of California had 11 minutes and 37 seconds of speaking time.
Fans of Yang apparently noticed his lack of speaking time: The hashtag #LetYangSpeak was trending on Twitter as of early Friday morning.
On Twitter, Yang admitted that he was partially to blame for the issue (can you imagine a president who accepts partial blame?) in that he is a newcomer to the debate format, which is not a natural one for him, and needed “very specific behaviors that feel very forced.” He promised that he’s a “quick study,” though, and will do better in the next debate, scheduled to take place in Detroit in just 30 days.
Despite Yang’s limited camera time, he managed to win Drudge’s online poll, although that may have more to do with online trolling than winning a debate he didn’t get to speak at.
Some reflections from my first debate: First very glad to have the chance to represent on stage! Truly a privilege and thank you for making it happen.
— Andrew Yang🧢⬆️🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) June 28, 2019
Second, I feel bad for those who tuned in to see and support me that I didn’t get more airtime. Will do better (my mic being off unless called on didn’t help) and glad to have another opportunity in July (and afterwards)!
— Andrew Yang🧢⬆️🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) June 28, 2019
Third, this format is not a natural one for me at all. Requires very specific behaviors that feel very forced.
— Andrew Yang🧢⬆️🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) June 28, 2019
Like you have to fake and force things even more than I’d anticipated. I’m a quick study though. 😀
— Andrew Yang🧢⬆️🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) June 28, 2019
Fourth, I’m glad that the network switches and we get different moderators each time.
— Andrew Yang🧢⬆️🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) June 28, 2019
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