Top 20 Most Embarrassing Political Interview FAILS

During an interview with The Gay Times, Conservative leader David Cameron hoped to tout his party as being progressive on gay rights. Unfortunately, his colleagues weren’t as progressive on the issue as he was, which made his pitch much harder. Cameron struggled to answer for his party’s voting record on gay rights, particularly his European Parliament members’ vote on a resolution condemning an anti-gay law in Lithuania. The Tory leader distanced himself before doing a reversal and saying he allows his colleagues to vote how they want on gay rights without whipping votes. Cameron was uncomfortable, and during the interview he asked to stop the cameras.

In February 2015, Green Party leader Natalie Bennett participated in an interview with Nick Ferrari on LBC that was widely considered a “car wreck.” This was largely due to her thoughts on a proposed housing plan. When pressed on how much money she thought it would take to give housing to 500,000 people, she responded it would cost 2.7 billion pounds. That would average out to 5,400 pounds per house, so that’s just bad math. The interview was a massive embarrassment for the Green Party. When addressing the interview, Bennett said she had experienced “mental brain fade.”

It’s understandable when a political candidate flounders after being asked a complex question, but Ted Kennedy failed to properly answer the easiest softball question ever asked. During an interview with Roger Mudd on his 1980 presidential bid, the late senator was asked why he wanted to be president. This question was followed by an awkward pause that took too long, followed by a response that in no way justified the length of his pause. The interview, particularly his failure to address this simple question, was seen as a disaster that was partly responsible for dooming his presidential campaign.

On the eve of the 2019 parliamentary election, Prime Minister Boris wJohnson was helping out at a dairy in Leeds as part of a campaign event. However, Jonathan Swain, a reporter for “Good Morning Britain,” showed up hoping to get an interview right before the big election. Johnson humored him, but he was able to give Swain the slip with the only exit available: the dairy freezer. While the “Good Morning Britain” team may have been disappointed with the rejection, they were given an iconic awkward moment that is uniquely Johnson.

It looked like a regular appearance on ABC’s “This Week” for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise in November 2023 until George Stephanapoulos brought up the 2020 election. When Scalise was asked whether he thought the 2020 election was stolen or not, the congressman avoided giving an affirmative “yes” or “no.” Instead, he dodged the question, claiming that states didn’t properly follow their election rules. Stephanopoulos stayed persistent, asking the question six times, but Scalise wouldn’t commit to a definite answer. The dance that Scalise did in avoiding the question made him look small.

Poor Economic Secretary to the Treasury Chloe Smith had to answer for budget decisions when she went on “Newsnight” in June 2012. Host Jeremy Paxman was like a dog with a bone, repeatedly asking Smith about a fuel duty “U-turn.” Smith tried to spin undoing the tax hike as a gift to the taxpayer but failed to explain how this money would be paid for. It was believed that Smith’s boss George Osbourne had set her up to fail by making this decision right before she was set to go on the show.

After Donald Trump fired FBI director James Comey, the former president sat down with “NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt to defend his decision. At first, Trump tried to justify the decision by claiming that Comey was unfit for the position, but he eventually admitted that the Russian investigation was a motivating factor in firing Comey. The interview caused a political firestorm, making it look like Trump had something to hide regarding alleged collusion between him and Russia. It was even parodied on “Saturday Night Live” where Michael Che as Lester Holt seemed surprised by the brazen admission.

Most politicians would tread carefully when faced with a scandal related to alleged drug use, but not Rob Ford. When the late Toronto mayor faced questions from reporters in 2013 over a rumored video of him smoking an illegal substance, he was frank about his experience. Though Ford openly admitted to smoking crack, he denied having substance use disorder. However, admitting to trying a powerful narcotic under a “drunken stupor” doesn’t help give the impression that he’s in control. While we want our elected leaders to be transparent, Rob Ford may have been too real.

Oklahoma state senator Nathan Dahm attracted a lot of attention for an awkward interview he did on the Apple TV+ show “The Problem with Jon Stewart.” During the interview, Stewart pressed Senator Dahm on his position regarding gun control, accusing the lawmaker of being negligent and hypocritical. Stewart skewered the politician, who was barely able to respond to the well positioned questions. At first, Senator Dahm didn’t see a problem with the appearance, but he later claimed that Stewart had selectively edited the interview to make him look bad.

In 2016, some voters were looking for an alternative to the two major party presidential candidates, and Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson was getting a lot of attention. During an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” the former New Mexico Governor was asked what he would do about “Aleppo” as president. The question stumped Johnson, who was apparently unaware that Aleppo was at the center of a humanitarian crisis during the Syrian War. The interview was seen as an embarrassing disaster highlighting Johnson’s weakness in foreign policy. The incident is so infamous, that when Johnson was stumped during an interview later that year, he called it another “Aleppo moment.”

We’re used to politicians dodging questions about actual policy plans as long as they can, but Australian Liberal Parliament candidate Jaymes Diaz takes it to another level. Diaz was asked in an interview with Network Ten to detail his party’s' six-point plan to curb the influx of asylum seekers to the country. Only he couldn’t remember any of them. Diaz proceeded to provide broad answers instead of his specific points and was asked to outline his party's plan several more times before the interview reached its merciful end. The blunder eventually went viral, and Diaz conceded defeat in the Parliamentary election.

New Yorkers are famous for their no nonsense, hard-boiled attitudes, which can come out at some pretty inopportune moments. After President Obama’s 2014 State of the Union Address, New York Congressman Michael Grimm was talking to New York One political reporter Michael Scotto about the speech. When asked about fraud allegations he was facing, Grimm said he wouldn’t be addressing it and walked off camera. But after it looked like Scotto had wrapped up his piece, Grimm threatened him with violence – only to find the camera was still on. Grimm apologized to Scotto the next day, and in the ultimate bit of poetic irony, was later arrested on those campaign fraud accusations that he fought so hard to dodge.

British ex-Home Secretary Michael Howard got a masterclass in the power of repetition after this embarrassment. In this iconic 1997 interview on BBC’s Newsnight, anchor Jeremy Paxman grills Howard over and over about whether he forced the hand of Derek Lewis, Director General of Her Majesty’s Prison Service to fire a prison governor. There, Paxman asks Howard a simple question. And when he doesn’t answer it, he asks him again. In total, Paxman asks Howard if he threatened to overrule Lewis twelve times. Howard’s reputation was damaged as a result of the controversy, while Paxman’s questioning lives on in the hallowed halls of British journalism.

Following the 2010 United Kingdom General Election, the newly elected Conservative party was trying to craft a deal with the Liberal Democrat party to form a coalition government. It was creating some tensions, as seen in this interview featuring Sky News editor Adam Boulton and journalist Alistair Campbell. The piece starts off civil, but then devolves into a shouting match between the two men, with Campbell accusing Boulton of a Conservative bias, and Boulton telling Campbell to not tell him what he thinks. The whole thing was like watching a really classy train wreck.

After being the first US President to ever resign from office, Richard Nixon wisely spent a couple of years out of the public eye. But in 1977, the disgraced ex-President returned to open up to the American people in a series of interviews with British reporter David Frost. The interviews featured Frost grilling Nixon on his life, presidency, and of course, his scandals. While Frost was commended for his work, Nixon didn’t come off as well. Just listen to the legendary line where he defended his questionable actions. Nixon may have denied the allegations against him until his death, but these interviews are as much a part of his infamy as the Watergate scandal.

Well this one’s pretty rude. Labour Party MP Diane Abbott found herself in hot water in 2012 when she sent out a Tweet that said “white people love playing divide and rule.” Sky News was able to catch up with the Member of Parliament to ask her what she meant by her potentially divisive Tweet. She gave an explanation and then said she believed the Tweet was being taken out of context… before getting a phone call and walking off camera mid-interview. Sky News later found out Labour Party Head Ed Miliband was very likely on the other end of the call, giving her a very stern talking-to.

People from all walks of life and careers have tried their hand at public office, whether they be businesspeople, doctors, or even actors. But we’ve rarely seen athletes dabble in politics, and Australian Mal Meninga gave us a glimpse as to why. Meninga was a legendary rugby player turned coach, when he decided to take his work in a different direction in 2001. That year, he campaigned as an Independent for the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, announcing his candidacy in an interview on ABC, only to get cold feet 28 seconds in and walk out of the studio.

Missouri Congressman Todd Akin proved he fell asleep in Biology when he gave this interview during his campaign for US Senate in 2012. When asked about his views on abortion, he gave an answer that defied all medical logic, saying the bodies of female sexual assault victims had the power to shut out an unwanted pregnancy. He also pissed more than a few people off by trying to classify some sexual assault as “legitimate.” Hmm. Understandably, Akin was blasted by the public and both American political parties for his comments, and it’s believed that they were the reason he lost the election. Akin eventually apologized for the remark, but it still had a lasting effect on his career.

In 2008, Republican nominee for US President John McCain shocked everyone by choosing unknown Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. The American people were eager to learn more about her, and they got their wish in a series of interviews with CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric. But instead of showing everyone why she should be the second most powerful person in America, Palin utterly embarrassed herself in the interviews by coming off as unprepared and unknowledgeable. Some of the “highlights” of the infamous interviews included Palin talking about her home state’s relationship to Russia, and of course, her taste in newspapers. While Couric was showered with praise for her journalism efforts, the McCain-Palin campaign never recovered.

Local news is great for shining a spotlight on politicians that wouldn’t get exposure anywhere else. In the buildup to the 2010 Providence mayoral election, Rhode Island station WPRI interviewed candidates to give viewers a better idea of who was running for office. One of these candidates happened to be Democrat Christopher Young. While the interview begins with some substantive discussion, Young quickly transitions into something not related to politics, namely his “talent” for writing songs. Young then pulls out a tiny speaker and sings one of his compositions, making a minute and a half feel like eternity. Yeaaaaah, maybe don’t take up a music career.

Who do you think is the dumbest politician out there today? Let us know in the comments.