Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah has a suggestion to provide a counterweight to CNN's hosts for the first presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Lee stated on X on Thursday that if CNN can have its leftist hosts -- Jake Tapper and Dana Bash -- moderate the first debate, the second debate should have hosts from the other end of the political spectrum.
Lee suggested Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham.
Trump displays courage and confidence by agreeing to a debate moderated by two of CNN’s many leftists—Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.
In fairness, Joe Biden should now agree that the next debate will be moderated by Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham.@TuckerCarlson @IngrahamAngle https://t.co/gBn2bVnDzz
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) May 16, 2024
This seems appropriate considering the bias CNN possesses against Trump.
If Biden can have a homefield advantage for the first debate, then Trump should have one for the second. As it stands, the rules for the debate stage already overwhelming favor the president.
AP News reported, two debates have been scheduled.
The first will be hosted by CNN on June 27 in its Atlanta studios, with Tapper and Bash moderating and without an audience present. ABC will host the second debate on Sept. 10. While the AP also reported that ABC has not given a location, the moderators will be David Muir and Linsey Davis.
Arguably, ABC isn't the propaganda wing of the Democratic party CNN is, but one couldn't conclude that the network is by any means "conservative" or more favorable towards Trump's policy positions.
Lee has the solution to Trump walking into the hornet's nest.
If Biden truly wants to prove to voters that he has the fortitude and capability for the office above that of his rival, he should have to handle the same circumstances.
Nobody would accuse moderators in 2016 or 2020, at any point in those election cycles, of showing favoritism towards Trump, but he's walking a hardline in June.
Tapper and Bash will do their best to prop up Biden, throw softball questions to him, and mitigate the public's exposure to his senility.
In hoping to cross off those boxes, they will most likely impede Trump with constant interruptions, attempt to divert his efforts to bring Biden's record under a microscope, and throw constant "gotcha" questions his way.
If we are truly striving for a middle ground, we need to forgo CNN, ABC, Carlson, and Ingraham altogether. Why not Joe Rogan? Rogan is not a hardcore leftist by any stretch but does not totally embrace conservative values unapologetically.
Granted he has his biases, but it will be impossible to find someone who doesn't unless opting for the route of finding a foreign news correspondent who is largely uninterested in American politics -- but that would present problems in itself.
Bias is a recurring problem with presidential debates not just when it favors the left.
The American people -- the undecided voter -- need an objective platform to hear from both candidates to make the most informed decision.
