“You can’t really be a CNN moderator and ‘let Trump off the hook,'” says pollster Mark Penn.
CNN is working to rig the upcoming debate against former President Donald Trump in favor of Joe Biden, according to longtime Clinton adviser Mark Penn.
Penn, a pollster and former campaign adviser for Bill Clinton, told Fox News that CNN debate moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash are keen to “take Trump down.”
“I think the moderators’ objective is probably to take Trump down. You can’t really be a CNN moderator and ‘let Trump off the hook,’” he said Tuesday.
Even a longtime Clinton adviser says CNN will stack the deck against President Trump: “I think the moderators’ objective is probably to take Trump down. You can’t really be a CNN moderator and ‘let Trump off the hook.'” pic.twitter.com/5EeYxzYgyM
— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) June 25, 2024
“That’s kind of the problem with the setup of the debate,” he added, referring to CNN’s stringent rules and conditions that put Trump at a disadvantage that include muting the mics when the other candidate is speaking.
Questions surrounding the debate’s fairness emerged after CNN announced Tapper and Bash, who have a storied and well-documented history of anti-Trump biases, would be the moderators of the first presidential debate.
Dana Bash’s ex-husband Jeremy Bash was even one of the 51 former intelligence officials who falsely claimed Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian disinformation days before the 2020 election.
Trump himself argued that he’ll be participating in a 3-vs-1 debate against Joe Biden himself as well as Tapper and Bash.
“You know, they offered me this debate, and they thought I wouldn’t take it because it’s on CNN. It’s Fake Tapper. They thought I wouldn’t accept because it’s on CNN, and Dana Bash is very tough on Trump,” he said earlier this month at a Turning Point Action convention.
?? TRUMP: THEY THOUGHT I WOULDN’T TAKE THIS DEBATE BECAUSE IT’S ON CNN
“You know, they, uh, they offered me this debate, and they thought I wouldn’t take it because it’s on CNN. It’s Fake Tapper.
They thought I wouldn’t accept because it’s on CNN, and Dana Bash is very tough on… https://t.co/aJETJRPOB0 pic.twitter.com/1deSWKPRHP
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) June 7, 2024
CNN released a statement defending Tapper and Bash after CNN anchor Kasie Hunt abruptly ended an interview with Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt when she pointed out their past anti-Trump remarks.
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. 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.