Former Top Clinton Adviser Calls on ABC to Launch Internal Probe into Whether Debate Was Rigged

Mark Penn, a former top adviser to Bill and Hillary Clinton, called Thursday for ABC to launch a formal internal investigation into its news division’s planning and execution of this week’s presidential debate to determine if there was some effort at “rigging the outcome of this debate.”

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Commentary: A Viewer’s Guide to Harris vs. Trump Debate

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will soon meet in a high stakes nationally televised debate, perhaps the only one of this campaign.

In previous elections – 1960, 1976, 1980, 2000, and 2020 come immediately to mind – the election contests were heavily influenced by such encounters. This year, for sure, it is “high risk, high reward.” With an election so close, we believe this debate will be important – maybe even decisive – in determining the winner.

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Trump Announces Agreement on ABC Debate Rules

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday revealed that he agreed to debate rules from ABC News ahead of his presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris next month. The debate will take place on Sept. 10, in Philadelphia. It will be moderated by ABC News’ “World News Tonight” anchor and managing editor David Muir and ABC News Live “Prime” anchor Linsey Davis and will be the first debate between Trump and Harris. The first presidential debate in May was between Trump and President Joe Biden.

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‘Not Coherent’: Jake Tapper Unloads on Biden for ‘Failed’ Post-Debate Press Appearances

Jake Tapper

CNN host Jake Tapper began his Monday show by railing against President Joe Biden for his widely-panned press appearances following a disastrous debate performance.

Since his late June debate with former President Donald Trump, Biden has appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” two black radio shows and participated in an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos. Tapper, on “The Lead With Jake Tapper,” argued that these appearances have not been reassuring to voters after the concerning debate.

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Commentary: Stephanopoulos, Biden, and the Lord Almighty

ABC News' Stephanopoulos interviews President Joe Biden

George Stephanopoulos’ interview of President Biden was painful to watch — unless, probably, you’re Donald Trump. Even partisan Trump supporters could feel sorry for the president — though that would be a mistake: if you were in Biden’s shoes, he would not feel sorry for you.

At least some people were not sure Stephanopoulos would ask, and then press, hard questions. He did. But there was no real reason to suppose he would let Biden off lightly: he surely wants the Democrats to win the election as much as any other partisan Democrat, and letting Biden remain the party’s candidate is — now, clearly — not in their best interest.

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Commentary: The Most Disastrous Debate Performance in U.S. History

Joe Biden Debate

It started with a “Hello, Cleveland” moment. Joe Biden gingerly shuffling to the podium and saying in a husky whisper “Great to be here, thank you” to an empty room foreshadowed.

The 90 minutes that followed showcased a candidate struggling to articulate coherent thoughts in complete sentences and occasionally suffering brain freezes.

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