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CNN asked the Democratic candidates about Ellen, instead of asking them literally anything else

The world's on fire, but sure.

Caitlin Welsh

on October 16, 2019

Turns out the real Democratic presidential nomination was the friends we made along the way.

After three hours of overtalking, arguing, some really positive and forward-thinking ideas, and whatever Tulsi Gabbard was trying to do, the final question of Tuesday night's Democratic debate was about... Ellen.

To borrow the evening's most overused phrase, let's be clear: Previous questions covered areas including the Supreme Court and women's reproductive rights, Turkey, the opioid crisis, breaking up tech monopolies, and whether billionaire and this debate's "Who?" guy Tom Steyer feels Personally Attacked by Bernie Sanders' rhetoric about the 1%. The CNN moderators did not ask candidates directly about immigration, the climate crisis, campaign finance, housing, voter suppression, LGBTQ+ rights, or domestic violence.

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And for then the very last question of the night, Anderson Cooper asked the 12 candidates on stage to tell the audience — in the wake of Ellen DeGeneres using "kindness" to defend her friendship with former president and fellow extremely wealthy person George W. Bush — about a friendship they had that might "surprise" people.

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Basically everybody watching handled this about as gracefully as Trump handles being fact-checked.

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It was the only question put to all the candidates, and an absurd note to strike, ringing into the night as the final one of the evening. It's hard to imagine how everybody at CNN decided that this exact question was the best way to — and I'm being generous in my guess at what their aim was here — find out how this rabble of potential presidents and persistent also-rans plan to handle the most divided electorate in the history of the nation.

The purpose of debates is supposed to be to help voters get the information they need to choose which candidate they trust to take on Trump next year, and the actual job of president after that.

Safe to say this is a question that nobody — absolutely nobody — needed the answer to.

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Topics Ellen DeGeneres Politics

Caitlin Welsh

Caitlin is Mashable's Australian Editor. She has written for The Guardian, Junkee, and any number of plucky little music and culture publications that were run on the smell of an oily rag and have since been flushed off the Internet like a dead goldfish by their new owners. She also worked at Choice, Australia's consumer advocacy non-profit and magazine, and as such has surprisingly strong opinions about whitegoods. She enjoys big dumb action movies, big clever action movies, cult Canadian comedies set in small towns, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Replacements, smoky mezcal, revenge bedtime procrastination, and being left the hell alone when she's reading.