Christine O’Donnell, the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate from Delaware, had been set to appear on CBS’ “Face the Nation” and “Fox News Sunday” tomorrow, but has scrapped both appearances to attend campaign events, including a picnic, the AP reported.
O’Donnell’s planned appearance on the Sunday shows would have put her in the position of answering tough questions about her track record of attention-grabbing statements on pre-marital sex, Joe Biden allegedly tapping her phone and her own dabbling in witchcraft.
[TPM SLIDESHOW: Christine O’Donnell: Anti-Masturbation Crusader. Witchcraft Dabbler. Republican Senate Nominee.]
The cancellations, just four days after her stunning win in the Delaware GOP primary, comes on the heels of O’Donnell’s positive reception at the Values Voters Summit on Friday.
Campaign spokeswoman Diane Banister told the AP Saturday that O’Donnell canceled so she could attend previously scheduled events — including a picnic hosted by Delaware’s Sussex County GOP. The picnic doesn’t get underway until 2 p.m. according to the GOP Sussex County Republican Committee’s website.
Another Tea Party favorite, Senate nominee Rand Paul (R-KY) canceled a planned interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in May, citing exhaustion. That was just the third cancellation from a major guest in 62 years, the show’s Executive Producer Betsy Fischer said in an interview at the time.
CBS host Bob Schieffer tweeted that Republican Strategist Ed Rollins and Michael Gerson of The Washington Post would be filling in for O’Donnell.
“I feel your pain, Bob. A page from Rand playbook!” Fischer tweeted Saturday.
The “Fox News Sunday” website was still promoting O’Donnell’s appearance as of Saturday afternoon. Karl Rove — who had been critical of O’Donnell’s “nutty” views but later backed the candidate — was also scheduled to be on the program.
Ryan J. Reilly
Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.
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