CNN received just as much heat for its Thursday night debate performance as the two presidential candidates as viewers slammed the network moderators’ hands-off approach, which allowed President Joe Biden to ramble and former President Donald Trump to lie without pushback.
Viewers groaned over each performance that often ended with a “thank you” from moderators Dana Bash and Jake Tapper.
Many on social media dubbed CNN the real “loser” in Thursday night’s debate. The network’s decisions to exclude real-time fact-checking and not have the moderators pushback at candidates’ answers created chaos and a disservice to Americans watching, viewers argued.
One unnamed CNN journalist even told Mediate the network “blew it.”
“There should have been some fact-checking,” the source told the outlet.
The candidates sometimes dodged answering the question asked, and even began arguing about golf. Moderators also did not interject to correct Trump, who made 30 false claims during the debate while the president made nine, according to an online fact check by CNN — an important service that was wholly absent during the live debate.
Trump repeated familiar lies about abortion, the January 6 Capitol attack and that Biden fabricated the “losers and suckers” remark Trump made about the military. Meanwhile, Biden mixed up the figures when describing Medicare policies, falsely claimed no troops had died during his term, and exaggerated Trump’s 2020 bleach antidote for Covid-19.
Bash and Tapper instead thanked each candidate for their responses, without offering follow-up questions or giving them a chance to clarify — or speak up, in the case of a hoarse Joe Biden.
Many viewers took to social media to voice their disappointment around the debate’s handling.
“The biggest loser of this debate? @CNN. How do you allow lies to be told and not correct them for everyone watching?” one X user said.
“Apparently, ‘debate moderator’ means a person who can read questions off a card and do absolutely no follow-up or fact checking or accountability or context for voters,” anoter user wrote. “This is truly one of CNN’s worst nights. Everyone involved in making decisions for it should feel embarrassed.”
“The biggest loser in last night’s debate wasn’t Joe Biden. It was CNN and the truth. It was complete journalistic malpractice to abdicate all responsibility for fact checking. CNN cleared the field and cultivated it for the most consequential liar of all time,” another X user stated.
“You’d think after the last @CNN moderation fail that they would have learned. Absolutely aiding in destroying our democracy to not fact check a liar. Wow,” another added in a theme that developed thoughout the night.
“Bash/Tapper/CNN’s passive approach is appalling,” one noted.
One user went so far as to declare: “CNN shouldn’t be allowed to host debates anymore.”
Political commentator Keith Olbermann wrote: “CNN’s decision to abrogate its journalistic responsibilities by not fact checking Trump’s firehose of lies is unforgivable.” He added: “This debate is Biden vs the tag team of Trump and CNN’s utter failure as a news organization.”
Washington Post commentator Karen Attiah slammed the network as doing a disservice to the journalism industry. “CNN’s moderating decisions damage the credibility of our profession,” she wrote. ”CNN’s format of no fact checking, no pushback, no follow-ups was a mistake. The Biden campaign agreeing to this was a mistake.”
Attiah argued the network’s choices aided Trump: “It demonstrates Trump’s strength and power. He can bend the media and Biden to play by his rules.”
When asked about the backlash from viewers, a CNN spokesperson told The Independent in a statment: “We are very proud of Jake and Dana. Our job was to make sure candidates were heard so voters can make informed decisions and we are pleased we were able to do that.”
