Offering analysis of the first Fox Business Network Republican presidential debate on the 8:00 p.m. Eastern edition of CNN’s AC360, CNN political commentator and Jeb Bush supporter Ana Navarro lamented that Senator Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and his “passionate voice” was excluded from the undercard event.
Asked by host Anderson Cooper for her take, the Bush backer expressed her complaint that Graham was not invited since “[w]e just had an entire hour of the most humorless debate between the four” candidates (referring to Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jinal, and Rick Santorum).
Navarro then added that she “really miss[ed] Lindsey’s passionate voice on foreign policy and national security but also his sense of humor and levity and God knows that Republicans need a little levity right now.”
In addition to Graham, former New York Governor George Pataki and former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore did not meet FBN’s criteria to qualify for the first event held prior to the top eight candidates in the polls.
The relevant portion of the transcript from CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 on November 10 can be found below.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360
November 10, 2015
8:05 p.m. Eastern
ANDERSON COOPER: Ana, what do you make of this? I mean, Chris Christie clearly trying to keep the focus on Hillary Clinton. Bobby Jindal clearly came in this with a strategy of hitting back at Chris Christie and even Mike Huckabee’s record.
ANA NAVARRO: Oh, Anderson, I have just one thing to say: Bring back Lindsey Graham. We just had an entire hour of the most humorless debate between the four. I think really miss Lindsey’s passionate voice on foreign policy and national security but also his sense of humor and levity and God knows that Republicans need a little levity right now.
