Twitter to Alex Trebek: Hey, how about letting Wolf and Wagner talk?
“A heavily criticized gubernatorial event.”
“What is the Oct. 1, 2018, debate between Pennsylvania Democratic incumbent Tom Wolf and Republican challenger Scott Wagner hosted by ‘Jeopardy!’ host Alex Trebek in Hershey, Pa.?”
That was the consensus among viewers who watched and then joined in on the Twittersphere to review the evening.
“Is Alex Trebek running for Gov.?? He’s talking a lot,” tweeted Mike Regan.
Many aired similar complaints on social media, while others
accused Mr. Trebek of being tone-deaf when he made jokes about the Catholic Church crisis.
At one point, Mr. Trebek told a personal story about attending a Catholic boarding school and never witnessing sexual misconduct.
“So I believe there are Catholic priests out there who are able to minister to their congregations without preying — that’s P-R-E-Y — against young people,” Mr. Trebek said.
“Alex Trebek just interrupted the Pennsylvania gubernatorial debate to tell everyone he was never sexually abused by a priest,” Dan McQuade responded on Twitter.
Mr. Wagner’s campaign joined in on the criticism Tuesday, calling for two additional debates “in light of Trebek’s performance,” according to a campaign news release. Campaign spokesman Andrew Romero called it “Just a total disservice to the people of Pennsylvania.”
Mr. Wolf’s campaign said there would be no change in plans.
“Scott Wagner should spend some time developing a platform that doesn’t tax seniors’ retirement, cut billions from education, and strip health care away from hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians,” Beth Melena, communications director for the Wolf campaign, said. “Pennsylvanians are listening to what Scott Wagner has to say. They just don’t like what they’re hearing. Nothing has changed. We’re not doing any more debates.”
The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry hosted the gubernatorial debate.
“We always look to find somebody who can create interest in the event,” chamber executive director and CEO Gene Barr said. “We want people to pay attention to it. Yeah, we could have had somebody else do it, but our view is that when you bring somebody in who has a name that is recognizable, we’ll bring more attention to it. That was our goal last night, and that’s always the goal with our debate.”
Mr. Barr said that in previous years the chamber has hired high-profile moderators, including Ted Koppel in 2010.
While Mr. Barr defended Mr. Trebek’s “conversational” style, he said that the moderator “pushed a little too far and made it appear as if he was advocating” on a few issues, including a natural gas severance tax and school funding.
Some viewers tweeted in defense of Mr. Trebek. “Leave Trebek alone,” one said. Another lauded him for “pushing for real answers while remaining civil.”
But others declared him the debate loser and took their criticism into Tuesdaymorning quarterbacking.
Terry Madonna, professor of public affairs and director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin & Marshall College, said that had the event been framed a different way, people might not be having this conversation about Mr. Trebek.
“My concern was it wasn’t a debate,” Mr. Madonna said. “If it was more broadly described as conversational, then what happened was appropriate. I think more people thought this was [supposed to be] a debate because that was how it was billed.”
Mr. Trebek did begin the evening stating that he accepted the invitation to moderate “on the condition that I would get to do it my way … I’m not a big fan of the traditional debate format.”
Mr. Wolf agreed to only one debate this campaign season, a “typical incumbent strategy,” Mr. Madonna said.
“You have a double-digit lead and you spent four times as much money, you have $9.8 million on hand, the last thing you want to do is have a debate where the potential to make a mistake and have momentum created for your opponent [exists],” Mr. Madonna said.
According to RealClear Politics, Mr. Wolf currently holds a 16.8-point advantage over Mr. Wagner.
Mr. Madonna said that whatever happened Monday night, he doesn’t think it will have any bearing on either candidate’s campaign.
“I didn’t hear anything that struck me as new. If it was new, it wasn’t new to the point where it resonated. That’s the problem,” he said. “If you were with Wolf, you’ll probably still stay with Wolf. If you were with Wagner, same thing.”
But few people were focusing on the typically well-rehearsed and oft-repeated lines from the two candidates. They were zeroed in on the guy who spent more time participating in the debate than moderating it.