Staff Reports
In a move that should surprise no one, major news outlets are falling all over themselves to host the 2024 Republican presidential primary debates. CNN, NBC News, and Fox News are all jockeying for position, according to a report from Axios. However, the real question is: who can be trusted? Republicans, particularly Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, seem to have their doubts about CNN and MSNBC. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump isn’t exactly thrilled with Fox News either, thanks to their coverage of Governor DeSantis.
NEW: DeSantis’ team doesn’t want NBC or CNN to co-host a debate
Trump is wary of Fox and Murdoch’s perceived turn to DeSantis
CNN, NBC salivating to host a GOP debate this fall but deadlock is creating uncertainty over them even happening w/ @sarafischer https://t.co/vPS8WzKOyQ— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) June 2, 2023
CNN recently hosted a town hall with Trump that netted an impressive 3.3 million viewers, their highest for a single-candidate town hall since the one they did with Joe Biden in 2020. The network has reportedly been telling the Republican National Committee (RNC) that they could actually reach more conservative voters than Fox, boasting about the fact that they would air the debates on non-CNN Warner Bros. network. Even CNN boss Chris Licht has said that the network would be open to partnering with a conservative-leaning outlet for the debates.
NBC News, for their part, has pitched a debate hosted by Lester Holt, alongside journalists from Telemundo and CNBC. However, they may run into difficulties due to their reportedly strained relationship with Governor DeSantis. The Florida governor has already threatened to boycott NBC News and MSNBC after he took umbrage with a question asked by host Andrea Mitchell during a segment with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Then there’s Fox News, who hopes to have Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum moderating their debate, which is scheduled to be the first. However, as the outlet notes, Trump and Fox News have had a less-than-ideal relationship in recent years. Trump was reportedly upset with Fox News in 2022 for ignoring him and focusing on other 2024 candidates. However, he does continue to appear on the network, including a recent prerecorded town hall with Sean Hannity.
In the end, it remains to be seen who will be chosen to host these debates. But one thing is clear: Republican voters won’t be tuning into CNN or MSNBC for their coverage. And given Fox News’s spotty track record, they might want to consider looking elsewhere as well.
Source: The Daily Caller
