CNN Contributor Compares DeSantis and Haley Debate to Watching ‘Two Drowning Victims’

Wednesday night’s CNN debate featuring the last two viable Republican presidential candidates was a fiery one, but one CNN contributor threw some figurative water on them, comparing them to “drowning victims.”

During a Thursday morning post-game analysis with Terry Sullivan, former presidential campaign manager for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), and CNN political commentator S.E. Cupp, anchor Kate Bolduan asked Sullivan if there was “a moment of most impact” for him during the debate between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R). To say the least, he was not impressed with either candidate:

Uh, wow. Like, it was like watching two drowning victims, like, grapple with each other to see which one was going to get the last gasp of air before they went under. Again, the most impactful moment was when [former President] Donald Trump decided not to show up. But I do think this is the first time that they both did so poorly that I think they might be better off that, that Trump didn’t show up because he would eviscerate them.

And Sullivan’s criticism didn’t end there:

Bolduan: What was poor about it? You think they’re getting worse, not better, at this?

Sullivan: Yeah, they’d both been getting much better in the debate. Nikki’s always been a strong debater, and DeSantis has really gotten better. Uh, but they just were reading a script they literally were given by their campaigns, the [opposition] research book, and just memorized stuff and regurgitate… Like Nikki going back to “Go to RonDeSantisLies.com” over and over again. And they just seemed very stiff and uncomfortable. And they seemed as uncomfortable to deliver the attacks on each other as I did watching them. It was it was really awful.

Watch the video above via CNN.