By Manny Otiko, IVN Staff Writer
Presidential candidates Republican President Donald Trump and Democrat Vice President Joe Biden are set for their final debate on Thursday – but that’s if Trump shows up.
Trump canceled the last debate because he tested positive for the coronavirus and refused to agree to a virtual format. Biden agreed to move forward with an ABC town hall. Then NBC offered Trump a rival town hall. But his appearance was savaged after he was peppered with tough questions by “Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie. “Saturday Night Live” later portrayed Guthrie hitting Trump with a chair. Trump was widely condemned after he failed to condemn QAnon, a conspiracy theory that believes Hollywood elites and Democratic politicians sacrifice children and drink their blood.
Trump has shown reluctance to show up at the next debate. His strategy was launching an attack on the moderator, NBC White House correspondent Kristin Welker. The Trump campaign has accused her of being biased.
On Twitter, he accused of “always been terrible & unfair, just like most of the Fake News reporters.”
But according to Vanity Fair, Trump’s strategy is complaining about all of the moderators.
“Such a strategy of trying to intimidate the moderators is part of the Trump playbook. He similarly suggested that Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, who moderated the initial September 29 debate, and C-SPAN’s Steve Scully, who was scheduled to oversee the second debate, would treat him unfairly,” said Vanity Fair writer Caleb Ecarma.
However, Wallace was widely criticized from both sides for losing control of the debate and allowing Trump to interrupt Biden more than 100 times. The Presidential Debate Commission has adapted their rules to deal with the last debate’s outcome and has ruled candidates will be muted while their opponent talks. This drew another complaint from the Trump camp.
“They’re only doing this because their guy got pummeled last night,” said Trump campaign communications Director Tim Murtaugh in a CNN article. “President Trump was the dominant force and now Joe Biden is trying to work the refs.”
However, CNN and other media organizations ruled that Biden won the debate.
Trump might run into trouble in Thursday’s debate because of some of the topics such as race, the coronavirus, and climate change. The president said that he doesn’t believe in climate change, even though most scientists do and statistics show that temperatures are hitting record heights. Also, he has continued to insist that his administration is doing a great job on the coronavirus and the nation is “turning the corner.” But coronavirus numbers are still rising as the disease spreads to other parts of the country. Also, the United States’ coronavirus death toll of more than 220,000 represents a fifth of the worldwide number.
Several journalists, such as Guthrie, Wallace and Axios Jonathan Swan, have begun to push back on Trump’s vague answers and he often doesn’t handle that well.
And going into the debate, Trump has already created another media storm after he walked out of a “60 Minutes” interview with correspondent Lesley Stahl. White House insiders said Trump didn’t like Stahl’s “tone” as she asked tough questions.
“According to a person with knowledge of what happened during the interview, Trump was unhappy that Stahl asked him tough questions regarding his rhetoric about Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the size of the crowds at his rallies and his disputes with Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious-disease expert,” said The Washington Post.
He has responded by attacking Stahl on Twitter and threatening to release his own version of the interview.
“I am pleased to inform you that, for the sake of accuracy in reporting, I am considering posting my interview with Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes, PRIOR TO AIRTIME! This will be done so that everybody can get a glimpse of what a FAKE and BIASED interview is all about,” said Trump in a tweet.
In a previous interview, Stahl said Trump attacks reporters as a way of discrediting the media.
By Manny Otiko
Presidential candidates Republican President Donald Trump and Democrat Vice President Joe Biden are set for their final debate on Thursday – but that’s if Trump shows up.
Trump canceled the last debate because he tested positive for the coronavirus and refused to agree to a virtual format. Biden agreed to move forward with an ABC town hall. Then NBC offered Trump a rival town hall. But his appearance was savaged after he was peppered with tough questions by “Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie. “Saturday Night Live” later portrayed Guthrie hitting Trump with a chair. Trump was widely condemned after he failed to condemn QAnon, a conspiracy theory that believes Hollywood elites and Democratic politicians sacrifice children and drink their blood.
Trump has shown reluctance to show up at the next debate. His strategy was launching an attack on the moderator, NBC White House correspondent Kristin Welker. The Trump campaign has accused her of being biased.
On Twitter, he accused of “always been terrible & unfair, just like most of the Fake News reporters.”
But according to Vanity Fair, Trump’s strategy is complaining about all of the moderators.
“Such a strategy of trying to intimidate the moderators is part of the Trump playbook. He similarly suggested that Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, who moderated the initial September 29 debate, and C-SPAN’s Steve Scully, who was scheduled to oversee the second debate, would treat him unfairly,” said Vanity Fair writer Caleb Ecarma.
However, Wallace was widely criticized from both sides for losing control of the debate and allowing Trump to interrupt Biden more than 100 times. The Presidential Debate Commission has adapted their rules to deal with the last debate’s outcome and has ruled candidates will be muted while their opponent talks. This drew another complaint from the Trump camp.
“They’re only doing this because their guy got pummeled last night,” said Trump campaign communications Director Tim Murtaugh in a CNN article. “President Trump was the dominant force and now Joe Biden is trying to work the refs.”
However, CNN and other media organizations ruled that Biden won the debate.
Trump might run into trouble in Thursday’s debate because of some of the topics such as race, the coronavirus, and climate change. The president said that he doesn’t believe in climate change, even though most scientists do and statistics show that temperatures are hitting record heights. Also, he has continued to insist that his administration is doing a great job on the coronavirus and the nation is “turning the corner.” But coronavirus numbers are still rising as the disease spreads to other parts of the country. Also, the United States’ coronavirus death toll of more than 220,000 represents a fifth of the worldwide number.
Several journalists, such as Guthrie, Wallace and Axios Jonathan Swan, have begun to push back on Trump’s vague answers and he often doesn’t handle that well.
And going into the debate, Trump has already created another media storm after he walked out of a “60 Minutes” interview with correspondent Lesley Stahl. White House insiders said Trump didn’t like Stahl’s “tone” as she asked tough questions.
“According to a person with knowledge of what happened during the interview, Trump was unhappy that Stahl asked him tough questions regarding his rhetoric about Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the size of the crowds at his rallies and his disputes with Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious-disease expert,” said The Washington Post.
He has responded by attacking Stahl on Twitter and threatening to release his own version of the interview.
“I am pleased to inform you that, for the sake of accuracy in reporting, I am considering posting my interview with Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes, PRIOR TO AIRTIME! This will be done so that everybody can get a glimpse of what a FAKE and BIASED interview is all about,” said Trump in a tweet.
In a previous interview, Stahl said Trump attacks reporters as a way of discrediting the media.
