Rick Santorum says the Fox News Channel and other networks staging the GOP presidential debates are guilty of sheer greed — and are only interested in hyping the GOP's top-polling candidates who will deliver them higher ratings and more money from advertising.
"Why don't you let the voters get a chance to see everybody? That's what has not happened in this race because we have the media elites who've decided they're going to segregate this race for one reason — money," the former Pennsylvania senator and GOP presidential candidate, said Friday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
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"Money is the reason that they're segregating this race and want to put people out there that draws more eyeballs."
Santorum has been relegated to the so-called "undercard debate" because of his low poll numbers, which he insists should not be used to keep him off the main stage with Donald Trump, Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio and others who are doing better.
"Every network has been guilty from the very beginning. Why do you think they put the people that are 'highest in the polls?' Because those are the people that they believe will attract the most eyeballs and that means they can charge more advertising rates," Santorum said.
"They're not interested in letting ideas [be heard], they're not interested in giving [a chance to] everybody in this race who's running a campaign, a legitimate campaign I might add, to have an opportunity heard and have the voters decide. They're more interested in what their business is."
Santorum told Malzberg while he really doesn't blame the networks for wanting to make money, they should come clean and admit it.
"They're in a business but don't try to pretend that somehow or another that you're out there doing public service. You're not doing any public service. You're trying to sell gold or something else on your cable station," he said.
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