“After the Bell” anchors Liz Claman and David Asman had some choice words for a publicist representing Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles after the pair bailed on a scheduled interview with Fox Business Network.
Simpson and Bowles, who chaired the bipartisan debt commission in 2010 and now run the “Fix the Debt” campaign, were scheduled to appear on both CNBC and FBN during the 4pmET hour. Before the CNBC interview began, handlers for Simpson and Bowles told Fox Business that the “After the Bell” interview was cancelled.
CNBC billed Bartiromo’s interview as exclusive. Bartiromo’s executive producer is Gary Schreier, who jumped from FBN to CNBC earlier this year.
“They made a commitment, and Alan Simpson’s people and the PR people for Fix the Debt — specifically Beth Sullivan — have not allowed them to come to speak to you on Fox Business,” Claman said as the network showed a live shot of two empty chairs. “Apparently, David, they don’t want to fix the debt that badly.”
“The point is is that the debate that we’re involved in now, a really historic debate, is not exclusive to anybody,” Asman added. “It’s a debate that all networks, that all individuals, are interested in. And if they’re interested in getting their message out, they should not consider themselves exclusive to one party.”
Watch the video after the jump.