Staff Reports
Hold onto your hats, folks. It’s officially set: CNN’s liberal tag team, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, will moderate the first 2024 presidential general election debate between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden on June 27. In what’s certain to be a circus of epic proportions, these moderators will try to wrangle the chaos and keep some semblance of order, an endeavor guaranteed to be about as effective as corralling cats.
This isn’t just any debate; it’s a historic showdown featuring the oldest sitting president versus the only former president sporting a shiny felony conviction. Throw CNN into the mix, and there’s more thespian drama here than the last season of “The Real Housewives.” At 90 minutes long with two carefully placed commercial breaks, this spectacle will be the first time since 2020 that Biden and Trump square off on a national stage.
Tapper and Bash: What to know about hosts of CNN Trump-Biden presidential debate – Washington Examiner
Democrat Propagandists? https://t.co/btZ3nD392t
— Raul Jimenez (@RaulJim60058041) June 23, 2024
Let’s be realistic: Trump will undoubtedly go for Biden’s jugular, highlighting everything from his cognitive lapses to his floundering policy decisions. Biden, on the other hand, will robotically echo the Democrats’ worn-out rhetoric about Trump’s legal troubles and the Jan. 6 drama that they haven’t let rest for a nanosecond since it happened. CNN is already promising that Tapper and Bash will wield their moderator wands to enforce timing and civility. Sure, and pigs might fly.
A flashback to the good ol’ days shows Trump’s love-hate relationship with CNN. During the 2016 election, CNN couldn’t get enough of Trump’s high-energy rallies, airing them live without commercial breaks. Fast forward a few years, and Trump’s label for the network as “the Clinton News Network” and “fake news” sticks like a glove. Despite their tumultuous relationship, Trump made a rare reappearance on CNN in May 2023, a good seven years since his last bout with Tapper.
Jake Tapper, the knight in CNN panel armor, is reputed for his hard-hitting questions and steadfast criticism of Trump. His ever-present smirk graced millions of TV screens as he fixated on the Russia collusion hoax that ate up the first years of Trump’s presidency. Despite Robert Mueller debunking this fairy tale, Tapper has yet to surrender his vendetta against Trump and his supporters. Of course, he never fails to highlight his own journalistic integrity while demonizing any conservative who dares to dissent.
Dana Bash holds her own with her co-hosting duties on “Inside Politics.” She brought her special brand of bias to the stage in debates featuring everyone from Biden to Bernie Sanders. Never missing a beat, Bash has remained one of Trump’s loudest critics, quick to label his statements as antisemitic or dangerous without a second thought. She’s fact-checked his every word on Truth Social and enjoys parking herself on the moral high ground of CNN.
So, tune in on June 27 if you have a penchant for watching a mainstream media circus. With Tapper and Bash moderating, expect the usual one-sided commentary peppered with awkward attempts at fairness. It will be a debate for the ages—or at least, a prime-time platform for CNN to spin its preferred narrative while trying to reign in the fireworks that are sure to fly when Trump and Biden share the stage.
