It seems as if Alex Trebek should maybe reconsider quitting his day job. On Monday night the Jeopardy! host moderated the Pennsylvania Governor debate between incumbent Democrat Tom Wolf and his Republican challenger Scott Wagner, and it did not go great!
Instead of doing what a moderator is supposed to do, which is “moderate,” Trebek inserted himself into the debate and became argumentative at times, at one point even lecturing the audience on how they should choose a candidate to vote for. He took particular umbrage with Wagner’s opposition to a proposed severance tax, which would be imposed on the state’s natural gas industry, and proceeded to grill the candidate on the issue himself.
When Wagner attempted to counter with the fact that Pennsylvania’s impact fee already generated 217 million dollars in revenue from the natural gas industry last year, Trebek interrupted to get the last word in. “You’re not taxing them that much because most of them are based in Texas or Oklahoma,” he said, and then bluntly informed Wagner that he was out of time.
The audience immediately and loudly began booing Trebek, and his performance was likewise panned by political strategists and other observers.
“Tonight was a disappointment for anybody who watched the debate,” remarked Charlie Gerow, CEO Of Quantum Communications in Harrisburg. “The two candidates are different in issues and in style and those differences were not highlighted because Alex Trebek got in the way. He went out of his way in the beginning, saying he was not going to get in the way, then he got in the way.
Kurt Knaus, director of the Ceisler Media & Issue Advocacy, also located in Harrisburg, fumed that it was exactly what one would expect from a Hollywood star.
“It was more entertainment than debate,” he said, adding that it was especially disappointing being that this was the single debate for the Pennsylvania gubernatorial race. “It was more of a debate between Alex Trebek and Scott Wagner. Those two went tit for tat much of the time. I thought Trebek questioned Wagner a lot more than he did the governor.”
Twitter naturally also had some thoughts, including from elected officials on both sides of the aisle.
Too bad Alex Trebek did a horrible job moderating the debate. I thought he may announce he was in the race! Voters hardly got a chance at a fair look at the canidates. Very disappointing….
— Senator John DiSanto (@SenatorDiSanto) October 2, 2018
So about that debate #PaChamberDinner is it me or was it just awkward in certain parts? At one point I was wondering if we were being #punked
— Jordan A. Harris (@RepHarris) October 2, 2018
Witnessing the Trebek Wagner debate. Enough already Trebek ridiculous! #PAChamberdinner
— Dawn Keefer (@dwkeefer) October 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/kt1000/status/1046927257040764928
https://twitter.com/_travishughes/status/1046920544669585414
At one point, Trebek also went off on a bizarre rant against the Catholic church, which was pointed out by others.
Alex Trebek at last night's Pennsylvania Governor's debate: "The approval rate for the legislature was at 14 percent. The only thing with a lower rating in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the Catholic Church." pic.twitter.com/fUSZGpgPrW
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) October 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/surgerychannel/status/1046990971496554496
Overall general consensus is that Trebek definitely showed a bias against the Republican candidate, but unfortunately in the end that doesn’t help either party out. You can watch a clip of the awkwardness over at Mediaite.
(Via Mediaite, Reading Eagle)