Taking A Stance

Gingrich Threatens Debate Boycott

If crowds aren't allowed to cheer.

During Monday night’s NBC News debate, host Brian Williams asked the audience to hold their applause until the commercial break. Newt Gingrich did not like this one bit, arguing on Fox Tuesday morning that the request was an infringement on free speech and declared that he would not participate in any future debates wherein the audience will be silenced. “I wish in retrospect I’d protested when Brian Williams took them out of it because I think it’s wrong,” he explained. “And I think he took them out of it because the media is terrified that the audience is going to side with the candidates against the media, which is what they’ve done in every debate.” The past few debates have seen Gingrich snapping at the moderators to resounding cheers and laughter from the audience. His performance in the Florida debate was much less noteworthy without the crowd’s reaction.