The Trump campaign’s presidential moderator “wish list” has been released, and it includes a variety of TV newsers, anchors, hosts and pundits alike, some of whom would probably never be considered for this role before a Trump presidency.
Names like Bret Baier, David Muir and Norah O’Donnell make sense for a presidential debate. Fox News’ Harris Faulkner could make sense as well. Gerry Baker and Maria Bartiromo have experience moderating Republican primary debates for Fox Business (but obviously no general election debates).
Some of these names are certainly outside of the box, and it’s highly unlikely most would get much consideration.
- Bret Baier (Fox News)
- Gerry Baker (Wall Street Journal/FBN)
- Maria Bartiromo (Fox News/FBN)
- Shannon Bream (Fox News)
- David Brody (Christian Broadcasting Network)
- Rachel Campos-Duffy (Fox Nation)
- Kevin Cirilli (Bloomberg)
- Larry Elder (Syndicated conservative talk radio host)
- Saagar Enjeti (Conservative political commentator)
- Harris Faulkner (Fox News)
- Major Garrett (CBS News)
- Michael Goodwin (New York Post)
- Ambrosio Hernandez (Univision News)
- Joe Kernen (CNBC )
- Hoda Kotb (NBC News)
- Susan Li (Fox Business)
- Bill Hemmer (Fox News)
- Hugh Hewitt (Conservative political commentator)
- Tom Llamas (ABC News)
- Dagen McDowell (FBN)
- David Muir (ABC News)
- Norah O’Donnell (CBS News)
- Charles Payne (FBN)
- Rick Santelli (CNBC)
Many of the figures mentioned above deliver staunchly conservative political viewpoints, while some are news anchors. Of the 24 names on the list, nearly half are affiliated with Fox News or Fox Business. Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace is not on that list, nor is anyone from CNN.
These names were included in a letter by the Trump campaign to the Commission on Presidential Debates, first obtained by Axios. Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani wrote the letter and is asking the commission to move up the last presidential debate to the first week in September to get ahead of an expected surge in early voting.
Giuliani has been leading the campaign’s discussions with the debate commission, which also includes asking the commission to add a fourth debate.
If the commission declines to add a fourth debate, the letter asks that the debate currently scheduled for Oct. 22 be moved up to the first week in September, before the first ballots are sent on Sept. 4 in North Carolina.
What they’re saying: “By the time of the first presidential debate on September 29, 2020, at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, as many as eight million Americans in 16 states will have already started voting,” Giuliani writes in the letter, calling the current timetable “an outdated dinosaur.”
Here’s the letter, originally obtained by Axios: