Moderators shouldn't let Trump lie in this debate. Ask him these questions instead.
The moderators at Tuesday night’s presidential debate know full well what they’re going to get out of Donald Trump.
Asked about an economic plan, he’ll say the word “tariffs” over and over, as if that means anything. Asked about immigration, he’ll say something along the lines of, “Two words: Mass. Deportation. Two beautiful words.” Questioned on his past lies about the 2020 election or any of his multitudinous legal problems, he’ll say “RIGGED” and “WITCH HUNT” until exhaustion sets in.
Sprinkle in a heavy dose of bigotry and not-too-veiled racism and a bit of far-off-topic rambling and that’ll be that. Trump has the depth of a kiddie pool. If he’s asked general debate questions by ABC News moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis, they’ll get the same load he dumps on his rally goers.
If Harris has to define herself, Trump needs some sharp questions as well
Many see this debate as pivotal moment for Trump’s opponent. The thinking is that Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, having replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket in late July, has yet to fully introduce herself to voters.
That’s fine, and I hope the moderators ask the vice president smart and pointed questions.
But of at least equal importance is that Davis and Muir press Trump on the absurd and dangerous things he has said, and demand specifics from a man who avoids specificity like he avoids the truth.
Why is Trump getting a pass? Trump is 78 and barely coherent. Where's everyone who questioned Biden's age and fitness?
I have my doubts that the moderators are up to the task.
Simply presenting Trump as a normal presidential candidate standing onstage next to the sitting vice president without also highlighting that he's a convicted felon who refused to participate in the peaceful transfer of power is giving the man a leg up.
The reality, for those who still believe in such a thing, is that Trump is a historically abnormal candidate.
He spouts conspiracies like a high-pressure sprinkler, he has been indicted for attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election, he paints a dystopian picture of present-day America and he's surrounded by people who keep going to prison.
He never shuts up about "the late, great Hannibal Lecter," and he's forever fleecing the followers he has hooked with violent rhetoric, selling them Trump-branded sneakers and Christmas ornaments and cheap hats.
ABC News moderators will need to hold Trump's feet to the fire
Sadly, normalizing him has become reflexive for news outlets in moments like this. So if the moderators want to do a true public service for voters, they will ask Trump questions like these:
“You have said you plan to remove millions of immigrants from the country in what you’re calling a ‘mass deportation’ effort. Can you explain specifically how that would work, what it would cost, where the money for such a massive program would come from and how it would impact communities across America and employers who rely on the people you’d be deporting?”
“On that same subject, at a recent rally you said mass deportation would be a ‘bloody story.’ What did you mean by that, and are you expecting this program to be violent?”
Dick Cheney picks Kamala Harris, giving conservatives a final path to save GOP from Trump
Trump should explain, in detail, his alleged understanding of tariffs
“At a recent event, you said tariffs alone would lower child care costs. Economists agree tariffs on foreign goods are effectively taxes that get paid by U.S. businesses, with the costs passed along to consumers. So how could that possibly impact an American’s child care costs? Please be specific.”
“You have spent the years since your 2020 presidential election loss claiming the results of that election were not legitimate. Many of your supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, are now in prison because they believed you. But you recently said in an interview that you ‘lost by a whisker.’ What changed your mind, and do you now accept the results of the previous election?”
A plan to imprison political opponents? That deserves a debate question.
“On Saturday, you posted on your social media site Truth Social that you will imprison your political opponents and anyone you feel has, in your words, ‘cheated’ in the upcoming election. You wrote, in part: ‘Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.’ In a democracy, how do you justify, with zero evidence, threats of political reprisals like this for things that haven’t happened?”
“You have recently been saying that a child may go to school and, in your words, ‘he comes home a few days later with an operation.’ You’re clearly referring to some kind of gender-affirming surgery, and you have been saying that ‘the school decides what’s going to happen with your child.’ You must know that none of that is true. That isn’t something that is happening anywhere. Can you explain why you keep repeating such an obviously false story?”
“Your opponent is biracial, and you have openly questioned her racial identity, suggesting she only recently ‘happened to turn Black.’ Many Americans found that offensive. Would you like to apologize for that statement here in front of Vice President Harris?”
Asking Trump generic debate questions won't help voters a bit
If part of the moderators’ job is to help voters learn more about Harris, then it’s incumbent on them to ask questions that pierce Trump’s armor of blather.
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When he doesn’t answer, they need to ask follow-ups, and they should continue until he reveals something beyond his carnival-barking patter.
It’s a tall task, but anything less is a disservice.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump lies in every debate. ABC must hold his feet to the fire
