Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:13 pm
Hillary Clinton is making it clear that expects the moderators to respect facts, and that she would like them to fact check Donald Trump.
Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri told reporters that the Democratic candidate wants debate moderators to fact check Trump.
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She thinks moderators should play a role in making sure that the audience knows the truth.
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My biggest concern is not a view of any moderator, but just that people adjust their questions… to suit the candidate in front of them.
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He ends up getting much more one-dimensional, simple questions, and that’s not reflective of somebody who’s in a debate to be the president of the United States. I think the moderators need to ask substantive questions, factual questions and keep them on an even playing field.
Here is the dirty little debate secret that Republicans don’t want to talk about. Donald Trump’s best debates during the primaries came when there were a lot of other candidates on stage with him. Trump skated through the debates by tossing out his few zingers and then fading into the background until his next skit.
When Trump got more questions and camera time during the debates, he wilted under the pressure, and his vague generalities couldn’t hold up to the slightest bit of scrutiny.
The Clinton campaign is worried that the moderators are going to dumb it down for Trump and toss him softballs. Judging from the excuses that we have gotten from the press about why moderators shouldn’t fact check the debates, Clinton has a good reason to be concerned.
Hopefully, the moderators learned a lesson from the outrage that Matt Lauer’s terrible hosting of the candidate forum unleashed, and ask tough questions befitting a president of both candidates.
Hillary Clinton is only asking the moderators to be fair, and respect facts, because if Trump is held to a factual standard, it will be a long night for the Republican Party.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
