‘You Should Have Asked Better Questions’: Terry McAuliffe Snaps At Reporter, Abruptly Ends Interview

Democratic Virginia Gubernatorial Candidate Terry McAuliffe abruptly snapped at a local reporter during an Oct. 13 interview released Tuesday.

WJLA 7News reporter Nick Minock separately interviewed both McAuliffe and his Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin in the weeks preceding the Nov. 2 election, according to the outlet. The gubernatorial candidate abruptly ended the interview, telling Minock “he should have asked better questions.”

“Alright Nick we are overtime,” a staffer interrupted, the outlet reported.

“Alright, we are over,” McAuliffe told Minock. “That’s it. That’s it. Hey, I gave you extra time. C’mon man. You should have asked better questions early on. You should have asked questions your viewers care about.”

WJLA 7News anchor Jonathon Elias said that the Democratic candidate abruptly ended the interview after ten minutes, the outlet reported Tuesday. (RELATED: McAuliffe And Youngkin Locked In Close Race, Vaccine And Economy Are Driving Issues)

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Minock interviewed McAuliffe on issued related to parental rights in education, the state’s school curriculum, and vaccine mandates in schools and workplaces, according to the outlet. He pressed the Democratic candidate on a previous statement saying that “parents should not tell teachers what to teach” during the Sept. 28 gubernatorial interview.

“Sure, parents should have a voice. And they do have a voice,” McAuliffe said. He defended his past record on education by pointing to his elimination of Standards for Learning (SOLs) while serving his first term as governor after parents expressed their concern that children were tested too often.

McAuliffe vowed to be the “education governor” saying that his administration will rely on the State Board and the school boards to establish the school curriculum, the outlet reported. The gubernatorial candidate criticized Youngkin’s promises to ban Critical Race Theory (CRT) with claims the widely debated curriculum is not taught in Virginia schools.

Minock asked McAuliffe on the amount of funds he plans to invest in public safety and his stance on vaccine mandates for students and staff in the healthcare and education field, the outlet reported.

“Last March you told me that you think it should be up to businesses to require that, but you want the state to require?” Minock asked.

“Well, wait a minute I can only do what I can legally do. I can do state employees. I can’t mandate, I can be a bully pulpit,” McAuliffe said.

The candidate called Youngkin an “anti-vaxxer” and emphasized his support for mandating all teachers to get vaccinated and for children if the Centers for Diseases and Control Prevention (CDC) ensures its safety, the outlet reported. He warned of the consequences of refusing the vaccine by pointing to the deaths of two eleven-year-olds from COVID-19 complications and the 1,100 students currently in quarantine.

McAuliffe holds a slight lead over Youngkin 48.4%-45.4%, according to FiveThirtyEight.

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