As CNN prepares to host the first Democratic presidential debate, the network’s president, Jeff Zucker, says tonight’s event won’t resemble the two Republican debates.
“Our approach will be different,” Zucker told The New York Times. “You’ll likely see more direct questioning of each individual candidate.”
Missing the draw of Donald Trump, CNN has lowered expectations for the size of tonight’s audience. The format will also be different:
CNN is giving the Democrats two full minutes at the beginning of the broadcast (8:30 to 11 p.m. Eastern time) to introduce themselves, in their own uninterrupted words, to the primary voters, a prime-time spotlight that was not logistically feasible for the unwieldy Republican field.
And then there’s this from the GOP front-runner:
Someone should inform @CNN that, despite spending millions of $'s on graphics, it is not the Democratic Debate, rather the Democrat (s) D!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 13, 2015