A trio of newcomers will moderate the second Republican primary debate Wednesday night.
Fox News host Dana Perino, Fox Business Network host Stuart Varney and Univision host Ilia Calderón will referee the seven hopefuls jostling on stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California .
“I think it’s going to be a very lively debate. And what we want to avoid is an interview situation,” Varney told The Post before the confrontation.
“It is the candidates discussing the issues among themselves. “That’s the goal here.”
With less than four months until the Republican nominating calendar begins with the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15, contenders are fighting for momentum.
“We hope it will be lively, because the seven candidates want to succeed. They need to break through to get some momentum in Iowa and New Hampshire,” Varney added. “And this is an opportunity to do it.”
Stuart Varney has already had the opportunity to question several Republican candidates for 2024. 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 the New York bureau of the newly created CNN, where he hosted the business-focused programs “Business Day,” “Business Asia” and “Moneyline.” He jumped to CNBC in 2001, then moved to Fox News in 2004 before moving to Fox Business Network when it launched in 2007.
Varney, who received U.S. citizenship in 2015, says he feels “honored” to have been asked to moderate Wednesday’s debate.
“Where else in the world can someone with an obviously foreign voice enter a high-stakes political debate and tell Americans what’s going on in the campaign?” she asked.
Dana Perino has prepared for Wednesday night chaos for years with raucous television segments with firebrands Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfield. fake images
“This is an exceptional country and I felt what I consider the warm embrace of the United States, 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 in Pueblo with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications and minors in political science and Spanish.
After alternating between local journalism jobs in Colorado and Illinois, earning a master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Springfield in the process, Perino headed to Washington, where she worked as staff assistant and press secretary for Rep. Scott McInnis (R- Colo.) and Dan Schaefer (R-Colo.), respectively.
Univision’s Ilia Calderón has teamed up with her Foxcorps counterparts to prepare for the second Republican debate.@iliacalderon/Twitter
After briefly moving to the United Kingdom with her British-born husband Peter McMahon, Perino returned to the United States in 2001 to become a spokesman for George W. Bush’s Justice Department. She moved to the White House in November and eventually rose to the position of press secretary during the final 16 months of Bush’s presidency.
At the time, Perino was only the second woman to serve as chief presidential spokesperson, after Dee Dee Myers.
After Bush left office, Perino went to Fox News, where she co-hosted the mid-morning show “America’s Newsroom” with Bill Hemmer and the afternoon talk show “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 to Univision, where she has remained ever since.
Calderón currently hosts Univision’s evening newscast alongside Jorge Ramos, who clashed with then-candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 election cycle. He also hosts a weekly newsmagazine, “Aqui y Ahora.”
Behind the scenes, moderators have been preparing for weeks to fine-tune their questions, polish potential follow-ups and ensure candidates have roughly equal time to speak.
Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson missed the cut this time and Donald Trump skips it. Ron Haviv/VII/Redux
“We have an excellent debate team at Fox,” Varney said. “We’ve been working on this for a long time.”
This debate, as during the first, looms over the absence of the Republican Party’s main favorite.
While Fox News’ Bret Baier, who co-moderated the first debate with Martha MacCallum, contacted Trump about attending that event, Varney said “I don’t think the moderators” were trying to convince the 77-year-old to show this time.
The two-hour debate will air on Fox Business Network, Univision, Fox News, Fox Nation and Rumble at 9 pm ET on Wednesday.
A third debate is scheduled for November 8 in Miami.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn