A trio of newcomers will moderate the second Republican primary debate Wednesday afternoon.
Fox News host Dana Perino, Fox Business Network host Stuart Varney and Univision anchor Ilia Calderón will judge the seven contenders on stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.
“I think it will be a very lively debate. And what we want to avoid is an interview situation,” Varney told The Post ahead of the fight.
“It is the candidates who discuss the issues between them. That’s the objective here.”
With less than four months to go before the Republican nominating calendar begins with the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15, contenders are scrambling for a boost.
“We expect it to be lively, because the seven candidates want to invade. They need to break through to get some momentum going into Iowa and New Hampshire,” added Varney. “And this is an opportunity to do that.”
Stuart Varney has already had the opportunity to question multiple 2024 Republican candidates.Getty Images
Who is Stuart Varney?
Varney, 75, grew up in the United Kingdom, where he graduated from the London School of Economics.
His journalism career has taken him around the world, including outlets such as Radio Hong Kong, and what is now KOFY-TV in San Francisco.
In 1980, he was recruited to join CNN’s newly launched New York bureau, where he hosted the business-focused programs “Business Day,” “Business Asia” and “Moneyline.” He jumped to CNBC in 2001, then went to Fox News in 2004 before switching to Fox Business Network when it launched in 2007.
Varney, who received American citizenship in 2015, said he was “honored” to be asked to moderate Wednesday’s debate.
“Where else in the world can someone with a distinctly foreign voice go into a high-stakes political debate, and tell the American people what’s going on in the campaign?” he asked.
Dana Perino has been preparing for Wednesday night mayhem for years with raucous TV segments featuring firebrands Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfield. Getty Images
“This is an incredible country, and I felt what I thought was America’s warm embrace, despite my accent.”
Who is Dana Perino?
Although Perino, 51, has never moderated a debate before, he has plenty of experience in American politics.
Born in Wyoming and raised in Colorado, Perino graduated from Colorado State University Pueblo with a degree in mass communications and minors in political science and Spanish.
After bouncing around local journalism jobs in Colorado and Illinois, earning a master’s degree from the University of Illinois Springfield in the process, Perino went to Washington, working as a staff assistant and press secretary to Reps. Scott McInnis (R-Colo. ) and Dan Schaefer (R-Colo.), respectively.
Univision’s Ilia Calderón has teamed up with her Foxcorps counterpart to prepare for the second GOP debate.@iliacalderon/Twitter
After moving briefly to the UK with her British-born husband, Peter McMahon, Perino returned to the US in 2001 to become a spokeswoman for George W. Bush’s Justice Department. He moved to the White House that November and eventually served as press secretary for the last 16 months of the Bush administration.
At the time, Perino was only the second woman to hold the role of chief presidential spokesperson, after Dee Dee Myers.
After Bush left office, Perino went to Fox News, where he co-hosted the mid-morning program “America’s Newsroom” with Bill Hemmer and the late-afternoon party “The Five.”
Republicans who will be on stage include Doug Burgum, Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Tim Scott and Mike Pence.Ron Haviv/VII/Redux
Who is Ilia Calderón?
Calderón, 51, grew up in Colombia and worked in regional and national media in that country before joining Telemundo in 2001.
Six years later, the mother of one jumped ship to Univision, where she has remained ever since.
Calderón currently co-hosts Univision’s nightly newscast with Jorge Ramos, who famously clashed with then-candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 election cycle. He also hosts the weekly news magazine, “Aqui y Ahora” (“Here and Now”). .
Behind the scenes, moderators have been preparing for weeks to refine their questions, polish potential follow-ups and ensure candidates get roughly equal speaking time.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is undecided this time and Donald Trump is skipping.Ron Haviv/VII/Redux
“We have an outstanding debate team at Fox,” Varney said. “We’ve been working on this for a long time.”
Approaching this debate, as during the first, is the absence of a reigning GOP front-runner.
While Fox News’ Bret Baier, who moderated the first debate with Martha MacCallum, reached out to Trump about attending the event, Varney said, “I can’t believe the moderator did” trying to convince the 77-year-old to appear this time.
The two-hour debate will air on Fox Business Network, Univision, Fox News, Fox Nation and Rumble at 9pm ET Wednesday.
A third debate has been scheduled for November 8 in Miami.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
