Nearly everyone seems appalled by Matt Lauer's presidential forum performance
The reviews are in for Matt Lauer's presidential forum performance, and they are far from pretty.
Lauer kicked off a series of forums and debates between the United States' two presidential nominees with a national security forum on Wednesday night, and the overwhelming consensus is Lauer should never again get such an opportunity.
The Today show co-anchor sat down with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump for 30 minutes each on Wednesday, and many people felt Lauer went after Clinton while allowing Trump to go unchallenged. The critics of Lauer let their opinions be known across the media and Twitter.
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Lauer repeatedly questioned Clinton for her lack of transparency regarding her use of a personal email account while she was secretary of state, but allowed to Trump to say he was against the Iraq War, which is a lie he repeats seemingly every chance he gets.
Lauer was also accused of not thoroughly challenging Trump to explain why the candidate is ready to be commander in chief, for not following up where appropriate, and for asking tough questions of Clinton while throwing softies to Trump.
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Jonathan Chait, in New York, called Lauer's performance "horrifying and shocking." While Dylan Byers of CNN said, "You don't send Matt Lauer to do a political reporter's job."
Others, though not necessarily impressed by Lauer's performance, thought he forced Trump to bloviate even more than usual, perhaps coming off to viewers as a man without any serious national security plans who is incapable of talking without bullsh*tting.
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Either way, moderators at upcoming debates were put on notice. The first debate is set for Sept. 26, and will be moderated by NBC's Lester Holt.
Colin is Mashable's US & World Reporter. He previously interned at Foreign Policy magazine and The American Prospect. Colin is a graduate from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. When he's not at Mashable, you can most likely find him eating or playing some kind of sport.
