April Ryan Abruptly Drops Out Of Fundraiser Interview With Pete Buttigieg

The CNN political analyst and Washington bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks said she didn't realize it was a fundraiser.
"I agreed to interview Pete Buttigieg this weekend – the campaign was not clear that the venue would be a fundraiser," April Ryan tweeted.
"I agreed to interview Pete Buttigieg this weekend – the campaign was not clear that the venue would be a fundraiser," April Ryan tweeted.
Amy Harris/Invision/AP

Journalist April Ryan has abruptly pulled out of a political event on Saturday in which she was slated to interview South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, claiming she was unaware it was a fundraiser for his Democratic presidential campaign.

On Friday, the American Urban Radio Networks Washington bureau chief and CNN political analyst announced her decision in a tweet, saying “the campaign was not clear that the venue would be a fundraiser.”

“We’ll be rescheduling the interview to a more appropriate time/place,” she added. “Looking forward to asking him the tough questions the AURN audience wants answers to.”

The Washington, D.C., event’s webpage, where tickets have been sold, explicitly calls it “a grassroots fundraiser.” Ticket prices range from $15 for students to $500 for “investors.” The site also states that the funds are considered campaign contributions.

Neither Ryan nor Buttigieg’s campaign immediately responded to HuffPost’s requests for comment.

Last month, Buttigieg invited Ryan to attend a Congressional Black Caucus dinner as his guest. On Instagram, the reporter shared photos with Buttigieg and fellow candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), noting that Barack Obama had invited her to the event during his own presidential campaign.

In July, Ryan moderated the NAACP’s 110th annual convention in Detroit, where she interviewed both Buttigieg and Warren in addition to several other candidates including former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

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