Moderators for upcoming debates named

WASHINGTON — Representatives from Fox News, C-SPAN and NBC will moderate the upcoming debates between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

According to the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, the moderators will be:

• Chris Wallace of Fox News for the debate Sept. 29 in Cleveland.
• Steve Scully of C-SPAN for the "town meeting" debate Oct. 15 in Miami.
• NBC's Kristen Welker for the debate Oct. 22 in Nashville, Tennessee.

The commission also announced Wednesday that USA Today's Susan Page will moderate the vice presidential debate on Oct. 7 in Salt Lake City with Vice President Mike Pence and Democrat Kamala Harris. The commission makes its moderator selection independently of the candidates.

Trump and Biden have said they will attend the scheduled debates, which are meant to offer voters to opportunity to see the contrast between the candidates on live television.

"I'm looking forward to debating the president and I'm going to lay out as clearly as I can my vision for the county," Biden said

Trump's team complained that the moderators were not those "we would have recommended if the campaign had been allowed to have any input," said campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh. "Some can be identified as clear opponents of President Trump, meaning Joe Biden will actually have a teammate on stage most of the time to help him excuse the radical, leftist agenda he is carrying."

Murtaugh noted that Biden, who has not sat recently for an interview with Wallace, will not go face to face with the tough interviewer. Wallace was widely praised for a tough interview with Trump earlier this summer.

Trump's team has tried to pressure the commission to move up the debates, citing increased use of early and absentee voting because of the coronavirus.