ABC News Cuts Newspaper From Debate Participation

For its upcoming GOP debate from New Hampshire, ABC News will have one less partner.

The network decided to remove the Union Leader, New Hampshire’s leading newspaper, from participation in the Feb. 6 debate. According to TV Newser, yhe decision comes a day after this Donald Trump tweet: "I'm protesting the @UnionLeader from having anything to do w/ ABC debate. Their unethical record doesn't give them the right to be involved!"

It’s not a surprise that an ABC source would try to assign blame somewhere besides a bow to Trump’s wishes, but Trump and the Union Leader have been in a verbal running gun battle for weeks, and Trump isn’t the only one who is reading the move this way, according to Mediaite. This season, the paper has given its endorsement to Chris Christie, putting him in the fine company of 2012 NH Union Leader pick Newt Gingrich.

Martin O'Malley is dangerously close to missing the next Democratic presidential debate, CNN Politics is reporting. On Friday, NBC News released the criteria for its Jan. 17 debate—the Democrats' last before the primary voting season kicks off in February—and the former Maryland governor is hanging on a razor's edge. To qualify, candidates must reach 5 percent either nationally or in Iowa, New Hampshire, or South Carolina in the five most recent polls recognized by NBC News and published before Jan. 14, 2016, the network announced.

O’Malley has been particularly critical of the Democratic National Committee for sanctioning just six 2016 primary debates. Two of them have been on Saturday night, the graveyard for broadcast network TV viewership. Now, according to Variety,  O’Malley is criticizing NBC News: “This election is not up to NBC executives. It’s up to the voters. We must not let NBC dictate which candidates voters get to hear from,” O’Malley tweeted on Friday. “This isn’t The Apprentice. Media execs shouldn’t be able to fire ppl from the debate stage. The voters should get to make an informed choice.”