Terry McAuliffe abruptly ends, storms out of interview — then scolds reporter to ask 'better questions'

Democrat Terry McAuliffe, who is running for Virginia governor, abruptly ended and stormed out of a recent interview after being grilled by a reporter over a host of issues related to schools, COVID-19, and public safety.

What happened?

WJLA-TV reporter Nick Minock recently conducted interviews with McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin. Both candidates were offered 20-minute interviews, but according to WJLA anchor Jonathan Elias, McAuliffe "abruptly ended" his interview halfway because he stormed out and chided Minock for not asking "better questions."

The interview began with a question about a remark McAuliffe made during a gubernatorial debate last month in which he said, "I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach."

"So are you saying parents shouldn't have a voice in their kids' education?" Minock asked.

"Sure, parents should have a voice. And parents do have a voice," McAuliffe responded.

When the reporter asked McAuliffe if he "misspoke" at the debate, the former Virginia governor responded with a resounding, "No!"

7News visits with Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe ahead of the Nov. 2 electionwww.youtube.com

Minock also asked about public safety and COVID-related mandates. McAuliffe said he would mandate COVID-19 vaccination for teachers and state employees, and seemed to indicate he would continue mandating face masks. McAuliffe also admitted he would mandate COVID-19 vaccination for Virginia children in schools, so long as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approves vaccination for children.

After attacking Youngkin for being pro-life and fighting for election integrity, an off-screen McAuliffe aide cut off the interview — and McAuliffe quickly followed suit.

"All right, Nick. We are already over time," the aide told the reporter.

"All right, we are over. That's it. That's it," McAuliffe said, jumping up from his chair and walking off camera.

That's when McAuliffe berated Minock over his questions.

"Hey, I gave you extra time. C'mon man," McAuliffe said off camera. "You should have asked better questions early on. You should have asked questions your viewers care about."

"Well, we did," Minock dryly responded.

Anything else?

McAuliffe claimed in a recent ad that his remark about parents during last month's debate has been taken out of context.

However, Youngkin responded with another ad this week showing McAuliffe reaffirm what he said during the debate — that he does not believe parents should have any control over what is taught in schools or what books are available in a school's library.

McAuliffe is maintaining a 3-point lead over Youngkin, according to FiveThirtyEight.