The time-honored tradition of critiquing debate moderators was alive and well on Wednesday morning as viewers disputed online whether the CBS reporters were “biased” and being “obnoxious” with their questions and interjections.
Tuesday night’s debate between Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was moderated by reporter Margaret Brennan who broke with a network pledge to refrain from fact-checking when she cast doubt on stories that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio running amok. An extended back-and-forth followed, leading CBS to cut Vance’s microphone while co-moderator Norah O’Donnell cut in. The heavy-handed tactics didn’t sit well with conservatives, according to the Daily Mail.
“F you CBS – how dare you,” conservative host Megyn Kelly tweeted. “Tried to fact check. JD put you in your place. You won’t [let] him fight you and you wont let them debate.” One of her followers added, “JD Vance called out the moderators for lying to the audience, and CBS immediately muted him. Legacy media is clearly controlled by the Democrats.”
Viewers of the September 10th presidential debate largely panned ABC News’s moderators for repeatedly jumping in during candidates’ answers to deliver real-time fact-checking, interruptions that CBS promised not to repeat when it announced the network would play host to Vance and Walz. Instead, a spokesperson said, viewers would see a QR code on their screen they could scan with their phones where they could read facts about statements made by both candidates. That plan quickly fell apart by the third topic of the night when Sen. Vance was asked for his opinion on the state of America’s immigration crisis.
“The people that I’m most worried about in Springfield, Ohio are the American citizens,” Vance responded, causing Brennan to respond, “Thank you governor, and just to clarify, for our viewers, Springfield, Ohio does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status, temporary protected status.” That means nothing, Vance responded, saying migrants could be “granted legal status at the wave of a Kamala-Harris-open-border wand.”
The discussion roped in Gov. Walz, who refuted Vance’s assertion that Vice President Harris “opened up the pathway” to millions of new arrivals. “Those laws have been on the books since the 1980s,” he shot back before both men found themselves silenced. “Gentlemen the audience can’t hear you because your mics are cut,” Brennan told them.
Fox News hosts analyzing the debate were withering in their assessments of refereeing by Brennnan and O’Donnell. “And there was some, you know, questions about fact-checking and whether it was fair and balanced across the way,” Bret Baier said Tuesday night. “The moderators were obnoxious and made it feel like three-on-one on Vance, and Vance was just fine,” Brit Hume added.
At other points in the night, Vance overcame the pile-on and pinned Walz into a corner on attempts by Harris and President Joe Biden to stifle free speech online. He showcased his knowledge of foreign policy affairs while chiding Walz for keeping exceptionally close ties to China, an association that the Democrat himself was a “knucklehead” move. Post-debate panels and snap polls gave the end to Vance, but it remains to be seen whether the showdown will move the needle before November 5th.