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George Stephanopoulos: ‘I’m Not Going to Participate in Some Kind of Sham’ During Presidential Debates

“I’ve made it a point — if they will not accept those facts, I don’t go on to other issues.”

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A photo of George Stephanopoulos
(Photo: ABC News)

CNN and ABC News are the two homes for 2024 presidential debates, thus far. And while he won’t be moderating, George Stephanopoulos has shared the one question he’d ask the candidates, namely former President Donald Trump.

While discussing the debates on CNN with primetime host Abby Phillip, the ABC News anchor says the questions asked of Trump will be a litmus test for the state of American journalism.

“I’ve made it a point — if they will not accept those facts, I don’t go on to other issues. I’m not going to participate in some kind of a sham where you somehow equate the legitimacy of an election or the peaceful transfer of power with a debate over tax cuts or environmental regulation,” said Stephanopoulos.

“If you can’t pass that fundamental threshold of saying, ‘Yes, the last election was not stolen. Two, I will abide by the results of the next election,’ then I think that’s all voters and viewers need to know. If you’re willing to lie about something as big as that, why should anything else they want to talk about be given any credence?”

Phillip then asked what Stephanopoulos thought the most important question to ask was.

“’Who won the last election?’ Very simple,” he replied. “‘Who won the last election?’ Let’s discuss and debate.”

Neither Abby Phillip nor George Stephanopoulos were tabbed by their respective outlets as debate moderators. Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will moderate CNN’s debate. David Muir and Linsey Davis will present questions to President Biden and former President Trump in the September event for ABC News.

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News Television

Greg Gutfeld to Host Fox News Show Live From Republican National Convention in Milwaukee

Gutfeld! will be on location from Monday, July 15th through Thursday, July 18th in Milwaukee, hosting his show outside Fiserv Forum.

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(Photo: Fox News)

Fox News has announced that Greg Gutfeld will host his popular late-night program from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee next month.

Gutfeld! will be on location from Monday, July 15th through Thursday, July 18th in Milwaukee, hosting his show outside Fiserv Forum in front of a live audience alongside Kat Timpf and various other panelists.

Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum are slated to host special primetime coverage of the convention as part of Fox News’ Democracy 24: Republican National Convention coverage. When their special primetime coverage concludes, Gutfeld will host his program at 11 PM ET.

To this point in 2024, Gutfeld! is the highest-rated program in cable news and is in the midst of its most-watched year in program history, as it averages more than 2.2 million viewers.

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News Television

CNN CEO Mark Thompson: We Wanted to Return Debates to ‘Simple, Classical Format’

“Much of the reaction of the public, the rest of the media, and other politicians is going to depend on President Trump and President Biden, who are the stars of the show.”

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A photo of Mark Thompson and the CNN logo
(Photo: Ståle Grut)

CNN is scheduled to host the first 2024 presidential debate Thursday night, and CEO Mark Thompson wanted to return debates to a more simplistic format.

“I wanted a return to a very simple, classical format,” Thompson told The New York Times while mentioning the famous 1960 televised debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon as inspiration for the network’s decisions on rules and format for the high-profile event.

During Thursday’s debate between former President Donald Trump (R) and President Joe Biden (D), the microphones of the non-answerer will be muted. No live audience will be in attendance. CNN is also bucking decades of precedent by featuring commercial breaks during the 90-minute debate. During those breaks, candidates will not be able to consult with their campaign staff.

Many conservatives have questioned why Trump would agree to a debate with such rules, and have also questioned why he would welcome a debate on a network like CNN. Charges of political bias have been lobbied against the network since his rise to the presidency in 2016.

Thompson said that while he’s happy both campaigns agreed to the debate, the network plans to let Trump and Biden be the stars of the show.

“The fact that we got it was something of a moment for us,” Thompson said. “Much of the reaction of the public, the rest of the media, and other politicians is going to depend on President Trump and President Biden, who are the stars of the show.”

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News Television

CNN Defends Jake Tapper, Dana Bash Amid Criticism of Political Bias

“There are no two people better equipped to co-moderate a substantial and fact-based discussion…”

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CNN has defended both Jake Tapper and Dana Bash amid backlash and criticism of their perceived political biases.

In a statement to The Hill’s Dominick Mastrangelo, the network stood behind its decision to choose the pair to moderate the first presidential debate from its Atlanta studios this week.

“Jake Tapper and Dana Bash are well-respected veteran journalists who have covered politics for more than five decades combined. They have extensive experience moderating major political debates, including CNN’s Republican Presidential Primary Debate this cycle,” a network spokesperson said. “There are no two people better equipped to co-moderate a substantial and fact-based discussion and we look forward to the debate on June 27 in Atlanta.”

The defense of the moderators comes after CNN This Morning host Kasie Hunt prematurely ended an interview with former President Donald Trump’s national press secretary Karoline Leavitt after she continually levied criticisms against Tapper.  

Hunt fiercely defended her colleagues both on the air in ending the interview with Leavitt and also in a social media post.

“You come on my show, you respect my colleagues. Period,” wrote Hunt on X. “I don’t care what side of the aisle you stand on, as my track record clearly shows.”

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