WASHINGTON -- Former presidential candidate Herman Cain nearly stormed off the set during a commercial break while doing an MSNBC interview Tuesday, after a panelist said he would question him about the regressive nature of his flat tax policy.
Cain appeared as an in-studio guest on "Now With Alex Wagner" to discuss the state of the Republican primary race. The first segment stayed largely on that topic, with the former Godfather's Pizza CEO defending Newt Gingrich -- his candidate of choice -- on charges ranging from racial insensitivity and influence peddling.
When the crew went to commercial break, things combusted. Fellow panelist Ben White, the Wall Street correspondent for Politico, said that he told Cain during the break that when the panel returned he would press him on the fact that his 999 tax plan "raises taxes on 84% and 1000 percent on poor."
The former presidential candidate, according to White's twitter feed, "Said he'd walk if I did."
White added:
A source who was there confirmed to The Huffington Post that Cain did stand up to leave after White asked him a question during the break.
Ultimately Cain, who had been booked to discuss the presidential campaign, was talked into staying for a second segment. But that part of the interview was conspicuous in that only one person got to pose questions to Cain: Wagner.