Millionaire investor and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary clashed with CNN panelists after blasting the Democratic Party Thursday for the way it chose Vice President Kamala Harris as its nominee.
O’Leary said on “CNN NewsNight” that after seeing her at their town hall the night before, Democrats should be concerned about how she ended up being the nominee.
He said he was struck by how “just 90 days ago, Pelosi went to Biden and said, ‘You need to step down,’ and convinced him to do so.” He made the decision, and he actually asked her, and we’ve now learned this: “Is she the right person to bring this home?” He questioned that. He could have said, “We need to start a process so I can make this decision,” but they decided not to do that. I don’t know who “they” is. Was it Obama? Was it Pelosi? I don’t care who it was.
After using a stock-picking analogy, O’Leary, who has previously criticized Harris, said Harris’s ascendancy to the nomination “is the second time the Democratic Party has circumvented democracy and chosen… »
The panel erupted with several people saying, “That’s not true. This is not true.
As others continued to weigh in, O’Leary argued that no one was allowed to compete with Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primary, when some voters felt Sen. Bernie Sanders had been shut out of the nomination in due to the bias of the Democratic National Committee.
“Kevin, Hillary Clinton won a primary,” Phillips argued.
“No one could compete with her!” » said O’Leary, raising his voice amid further crosstalk. “Even Bernie Sanders!”
“She won a primary,” Phillips repeated.
“So, did Kamala Harris win a primary? » asked O’Leary.
“Look, we’ve already talked about this…” Phillips said.
“What’s wrong with talking about it tonight after what you just saw?” asked O’Leary, as the panelists continued their conversation. “How many Democrats wish-”
“Do you think that’s really what matters to voters?” » asked CNN economics commentator Catherine Rampell. “Your whole talk has been, ‘Let’s talk about what’s happening to the voters,’ do you really think voters care about the fratricidal primary process?”
“If you’re a Democrat, you really care today,” he responded.
“I know you’re from Canada,” CNN host Abby Phillip said, challenging her credibility. “But the main process in this country is not in the Constitution. It’s not in the Constitution. Political parties can choose their candidate however they want, and as long as they meet legal deadlines in the states where they are on the ballot, they can do so however they want.”
“Yes, just to be transparent, I was born in Canada,” O’Leary said, holding his ground. “But my children were born and raised in Boston. All my investments in the United States, I want the president, whoever he is, to be a winner. »
“You’re describing something undemocratic that has absolutely nothing to do with the democratic process,” Phillips said of the Democratic Party primaries.
