People Are Raging At CNN Over George W. Bush And Ellen DeGeneres Debate Question

Almost three hours into the Democratic debate Tuesday night, neither the presidential candidates nor viewers seemed all too impressed when CNN host Anderson Cooper wrapped up the night with a question about Ellen DeGeneres and George W. Bush ’s friendship despite not bringing up climate change once.

“Last week, Ellen Degeneres was criticized after she and former President George W. Bush were seen laughing together at a football game. Ellen defended their friendship, saying, ‘We’re all different and I think that we’ve forgotten that that’s OK, that we’re all different,’” Cooper said at the conclusion of the debate. “So in that spirit, we’d like you to tell us about a friendship that you’ve had that would surprise us and what impacts it’s had on you and your beliefs.”

“The Daily Show” was quick to mock the moment with a picture of the faces of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and former Vice President Joe Biden :

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro , who was the first to answer the question on stage, tweeted several suggestions for a more useful question:

California Sen. Kamala Harris , another candidate on the stage, also tweeted to point out issues that were neglected:

And Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who dropped out of the presidential race earlier this year after launching a campaign focused around climate action, chimed in too:

Viewers on Twitter weren’t too pleased with the question either, given immigration, climate change, housing poverty, LGBTQ issues and various other topics were entirely neglected in the Tuesday night debate: