CNN's Dana Bash revealed on "The View" that she and Jake Tapper had spent significant time preparing for former President Donald Trump's behavior in the first debate, while giving less attention to President Biden.
CNN host Dana Bash has admitted that she and her co-moderator, Jake Tapper, focused more on preparing for former President Donald Trump's reactions during the first presidential debate than they did on President Biden.
On "The View" on Monday, Bash told the co-hosts that she and Tapper had dedicated substantial time to anticipating Trump's behavior and responses during the debate, while they had not given as much attention to Biden.
CNN Admits Extensive Preparations for Trump's Reactions in First Debate, Overlooking Biden
"We were prepping much more on how Donald Trump was going to act and react, and sort of tried to game that out, than on the Joe Biden side of things," Bash said.
She noted her disbelief at Biden's withdrawal from the race after the debate, saying she would have thought anyone suggesting such an outcome beforehand was "out of their mind."
CNN Admits Extensive Preparations for Trump's Reactions in First Debate, Overlooking Biden
Bash's admission highlights the unexpected nature of Biden's exit from the presidential race, which occurred just weeks after the debate and amid pressure from Democrats.
Biden's performance in the debate, which was seen as hesitant and weak, is believed to have contributed significantly to his departure.
CNN Admits Extensive Preparations for Trump's Reactions in First Debate, Overlooking Biden
Meanwhile, Trump's opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, faced off against Trump in a debate that was moderated by ABC News' David Muir and Linsey Davis.
Davis and Muir fact-checked Trump several times during the debate, but failed to fact-check Harris at all.
Davis later acknowledged that her fact-checking of Trump was influenced by the CNN debate, where moderators had refrained from providing live fact-checks.
In the aftermath of the debates, there were calls from the media for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race based on his poor performance.
Bash and Tapper also faced criticism for their moderation of the first debate, which some believed was biased against Trump.
However, Muir dismissed such criticism, saying it was simply "noise" and emphasizing the importance of voters having the power to make their own decisions.
Overall, Bash's admission sheds light on the intensive preparations that went into the first presidential debate and the unexpected turn of events that followed, with Biden withdrawing from the race and Trump emerging as the Republican nominee.
