That said, Kelly would have been a great choice for the vice presidential debate – away from Trump – but with Wallace landing the third presidential debate, the commission couldn’t award two Fox hosts with only four total slots available.
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Despite Clinton’s experience, O’Donnell said Trump could still come out the victor in one of the three encounters, which are slated for September 26 at New York’s Hofstra University, Oct. 9 at Washington University in St. Louis and Oct. 19 in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Lester Holt will moderate the first presidential debate.
Additionally, the CBS News correspondent Elaine Quijano will moderate the vice-presidential debate on October 4.
Debates have allowed challengers and relative political newcomers to reach out to reluctant voters, providing reassurance about their qualifications.
There must be a moment of silence before the debate in memory of Gene Wilder, so that the audience will be subliminally reminded that Trump has a striking resemblance to an Oompa Loompa.
Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Tuesday, journalist Mark Halperin said of the Clinton campaign: “High on the list of worries in Brooklyn is the expectations about the first debate”.
Trump, facing significant skepticism among voters about his character and temperament, will be aiming for a similarly forceful performance. That’s a mistake, because one of the most important issues of the 2016 race has been immigration, which holds personal resonance for millions of Hispanic Americans. He refused to confirm his attendance until he got to see who was picked to moderate the debates. Moreover, there are qualified Latino journalists who could have been included among the moderators, and they could have been impartial towards both candidates. Questions perceived as either too soft or too hard-hitting can earn a day’s worth of headlines. Fellow veteran debate moderator Bob Schieffer, of CBS, did a little better, and CNN’s Candy Crowley’s willingness to correct the record onstage sparked conservatives criticism but was utterly compelling as pure TV and revealing as to how candidate Mitt Romney reacted under unexpected pressure. Not only did she question Marco Rubio about apparently contradictory statements he had made in English and Spanish, she asked nuanced questions of the candidates about immigration policy.
Fox’s Wallace said he was excited by the opportunity.
The Sept. 26 and October 19 debates, as well as the vice presidential one, will include topics selected by moderators and announced at least one week before the debate.
But even if the moderator job can draw heavy fire, it offers a prestigious stage that can burnish a reputation. This will mark the first time in the network’s almost 20-year history that a FOX News anchor has moderated a presidential debate.
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Trump originally lodged a complaint about the debate schedule in late July, after he was informed that the two of the debate nights coincide with National Football League games.
