John King Defends His Gingrich Question: ‘Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t’

Thursday’s South Carolina debate started off with a bang when moderator John King swiftly and immediately tackled the elephant in the room, asking former Speaker Newt Gingrich about his ex-wife’s ABC News interview about his affair and the dissolution of their marriage.

After the debate, King’s CNN colleague Anderson Cooper asked him about the question, drawing particular attention to how Gingrich attacked the media for perpetuating the story as well as his denial that he had ever asked his former wife for an open marriage.

RELATED: Newt Gingrich Rips John King And CNN For Opening Debate Question

King felt it was a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation, pointing out that Gingrich had spoken about the interview earlier that day in a “very calm manner,” quite in contrast to the outrage he expressed on last night’s stage, which Cooper characterized as “debate theatrics.”

King stood by his question, saying, despite anyone’s personal feelings about the question, it pointed to an issue being discussed by both voters and the other candidates, and he felt it best to get it out of the way rather than try to “sneak” it in somewhere in the middle of the debate.
Have a look, via CNN:

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