Should the presidential debate moderators hold candidates accountable?

NPR

Published September 10, 2024 at 9:19 AM EDT

TOPSHOT - Republican nominee Donald Trump gestures as Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton looks on during the final presidential debate at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 19, 2016. (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP) (Photo by MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)

We are on the eve of the presidential debate.

It's the second presidential campaign this season, but the first between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

There are plenty of opinions about how the candidates will perform. But there are also a lot of opinions about how the journalists who moderate the debate should perform. Should they fact check in real time? Cut off candidates who ramble or dodge questions?

This summer, Colorado newscaster Kyle Clark got a lot of attention for how he moderated a debate with six Republican candidates for Colorado's Fourth Congressional District, including Lauren Boebert.

Clark earned a lot of praise, also a lot of pushback for how he ran that debate - fact checking in real time and refusing to allow candidates to avoid the questions he asked.

NPR's Mary Louis Kelly speaks with Clark about the role of the moderator in political debates and what he would ask the presidential candidates.