Young Turks host John Iadarola on Wednesday praised Marianne Williamson’s debate performance from the previous evening, saying the self-help guru and author proved why she deserved to be on the stage with other Democratic presidential candidates.
Iadarola said even though Williamson is still an “extreme long-shot” candidate, she did have some breakout moments, like when she made the case for reparations, which she referred to as the “payment of debt that is owed.”
“She really did prove why she deserves to be on the stage, especially in her response about reparations — really focusing more on the African American community than perhaps any of the other candidates on the stage last night,” Iadarola, who is host of news show “The Damage Report,” told Hill.TV.
“Her candidacy is unlikely to win but it’s far from the joke that many people have pitched it as,” he added.
Iadarola’s comments come a day after 10 candidates took the stage Tuesday night in Detroit, where progressive heavyweights Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) went head-to-head with centrist candidates like Former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.).
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, who failed to qualify for the first debate, was the first contender to speak Tuesday and he wasted no time going after Warren and Sanders.
When Warren made the case for decriminalizing illegal border crossings, Bullock fired back by telling Warren she was playing into President Trump’s hands.
But Bullock wasn’t the only low-tier candidate to make waves.
The crowd erupted in applause after Williamson blasted Trump’s “dark psychic force,” and when she highlighted the water crisis in Flint, Mich.
“Flint is just the tip of the iceberg,” she said. “We have communities, particularly communities of color and disadvantage, communities all over this country who are suffering from environment injustice.”
“This is part of the dark underbelly of American society,” she added.
Williamson surged in Google searches during and after the debate, and her comments sent Twitter ablaze.
Williamson has yet to qualify for the third round of debates, in September.
She told Hill.TV on Tuesday before the debate that she doesn’t have the required 130,000 unique donors and needs to gain the support of at least 2 percent of voters in certain polls in order to qualify.
—Tess Bonn
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.