Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) went on CNN and accused the network and co-debate moderator Dana Bash of not fact-checking.
“I don’t like debates where no one does any fact-checking,” Clyburn told Bash on CNN’s State of the Union. “You just say what you want to say. You know, it’s a lie.” ” told some weird lies, but no one checked on him and said it’s up to Joe Biden. I’m not sure if I ask you a question and your answer lies to me. You present the truth and see how you react to it. So, to me, that’s not the way to plan a debate.
Bash’s response was a genuine, slightly disingenuous statement that the debate was Biden’s idea, which was accurate, but CNN decided the moderator would not fact-check it.
The roles of Bash and Jake Tapper in the debate could also be filled by a few elementary school students with good reading and timing skills.
Moderators are useless in debates. Most of the time, when Trump dodged questions or told blatant lies, Bash and Tapper did nothing.
When political leaders do nothing they lie to the country, which is the opposite of what journalism does, and if debate moderators are not going to act like journalists, why not let anyone moderate the debate? Daytime talk show hosts can host debates. The Manning brothers could host a special Manning cast on ESPN and moderate the Biden/Trump debate.
There’s no point in having reporters serve as debate moderators if they’re not going to do their job. Rep. Clyburn is right. Biden’s debate prep needs to change and the way the debates are moderated needs to change because what happened at CNN is bad for democracy.
