President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump squared off on Thursday night in the first of two scheduled debates of the 2024 presidential campaign.
CNN hosted the debate, which took place in Atlanta. The network declared that the first presidential debate would be held without a live audience, but would include two commercial breaks—the first presidential debate in history to have ads.
CNN also granted the debate moderators a new power; namely, the ability to mute one candidate when the other was speaking.
Many of those decisions drew ire from critics, but the network’s choice of the debate’s two moderators probably drew the most criticism. Moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash have openly and consistently expressed disdain for Trump, accusing Trump of crimes ranging from Russian collusion and corruption to channeling Adolf Hitler and not…
