The Commission on Presidential Debates has released the list of moderators for the 2020 presidential debates. Here's what the next few months will look like.
Noticeably not on the list, is CNN.
JUST IN: Commission on Presidential Debates announces moderators.
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) September 2, 2020
• Sept. 29: Chris Wallace, Fox News
• Oct. 7 (VP debate): Susan Page, USA Today
• Oct. 15: Steve Scully, C-SPAN
• Oct. 22: @kwelkernbc, @NBCNews
The Trump campaign said this list is not one they would have picked, but they're pleased that Biden will finally be forced to face Chris Wallace, since he's rejected all those invitations to be on his Sunday talk show.
Tim Murtaugh tells CNN newly announced debate moderators “are not the moderators we would have recommended if the campaign had been allowed to have any input" but "Chris Wallace’s selection ensures that Biden will finally see him face-to-face after dodging his interview requests" pic.twitter.com/JsJDuXWEku
— DJ Judd (@DJJudd) September 2, 2020
Wallace has experience with debates, having moderated the third presidential debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Debate moderators can set the tone for the event. Back in 2012, when President Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney squared off in their town hall debate, CNN's Candy Crowley inserted herself into the discussion to try and fact check Romney. It was only later that she admitted her fact check may not have been exactly factual.
President Trump has said several times that he's eager to face Biden onstage. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi instructed the Democratic nominee to avoid the debates altogether. When he heard that, Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani wrote a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates demanding that the Biden campaign provide a written confirmation that the former vice president will show up.