MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell spoke for thousands of Democrats who had yet to vote in Tuesday’s primaries when he asked NBC News’ Director of Elections John Lapinski why the network declared Hillary Clinton the presumptive nominee on Monday, before the polls even opened. In their announcement, NBC and the Associated Press included the unpledged superdelegates Clinton gained after winning the Puerto Rico primary.
“What is the difference between this and releasing exit poll information at, you know say, 6:30 p.m. on a night when the polls close at 8 p.m.?” O’Donnell wondered.
The host was confused that the network jumped the gun, noting that journalistic integrity requires networks to wait until voters have spoken. It’s the principle of the thing.
Yet, Lapinski defended the network’s decision. Clinton reached the threshold of 2,383 delegates, so they called it, he said. Simple as that.
The good news is that voters aren’t letting the media influence their vote. Fox News caught up with some California voters on Tuesday morning, one of whom was a Bernie Sanders supporter who said Clinton may be the candidate the media wants, but she is going to vote for who she thinks is best suited for the White House.
Along with California, New Jersey, North and South Dakota, Montana and New Mexico are heading to the polls on Tuesday.