Media

April Ryan backs out of Buttigieg interview: Campaign didn’t mention ‘venue would be a fundraiser’

by Joe Concha 10/18/19 02:17 PM CDT

CNN political analyst April Ryan on Friday withdrew from a scheduled interview with Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, saying his campaign failed to mention that the event venue would be a fundraiser.

“I agreed to interview Pete Buttigieg this weekend – the campaign was not clear that the venue would be a fundraiser. We’ll be rescheduling the interview to a more appropriate time/place,” Ryan, who is also a White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks, wrote on Twitter. “Looking forward to asking him the tough questions the AURN audience wants answers to.”

Tickets for the fundraiser with the South Bend, Ind., mayor cost as much as $500. The event will be held Saturday in Washington, D.C.

{mosads}Promotion of the event was first noted by @PolPartyTime, a Twitter account managed by OpenSecrets, a group that tracks political fundraisers.

The Buttigieg campaign and American Urban Radio Network did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A CNN spokesperson directed The Hill to Ryan’s tweet.

In September, Buttigieg invited Ryan to be his guest at a Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) dinner.

“Thank you @PeteButtigieg for inviting me to be your guest at the CBC Dinner. The last time I was invited to the dinner by a presidential candidate was @barackobama. You know what happened after that!” she wrote on Twitter.

Ryan’s announcement on Friday came the same day the Buttigieg campaign said it will be removing former attorney Steve Patton as a sponsor of a Chicago fundraiser scheduled for later that day, The Associated Press reported.

Patton led an effort to block the release a video depicting the shooting death of Laquan McDonald, a black teenager in Chicago whose death by a police officer prompted months of protests that eventually ended in the officer’s conviction.

“Transparency and justice for Laquan McDonald is more important than a campaign contribution,” Buttigieg campaign spokesman Chris Meagher said in a statement. “We are returning the money he contributed to the campaign and the money he has collected. He is no longer a co-host for the event and will not be attending.”