A slew of Democratic lawmakers and commentators expressed frustration Thursday over moderators failing to "fact check" former President Donald Trump during the first presidential debate.
Thursday's debate saw Trump and President Joe Biden asked about the majority of issues deemed important by voters, including immigration, the economy and foreign policy. CNN's David Chalian told the earlier this week the debate would not be "the ideal arena for live fact-checking" and that moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash would instead focus on facilitating as opposed to "being a participant."You can’t moderate a debate if you are unable to at least pushback on outrageous lies," Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.
While Tapper and Bash did not issue live "fact checks," the two did frequently attempt to keep the candidates on topic. On multiple occasions, Bash told Trump he did not directly answer a question and still had time left if he wanted to answer. CNN alsoa list of "fact checks" for both candidates after the debate, claiming Trump himself earned more than 30.
The debate has stirred concerns in the Democratic Party as Biden himself repeatedly stumbled over his words and appeared to lose his train of thought. Although sources close to the president claim he has a cold, Democratic insiders have still begun tofollowing the debate the president will not drop out of the race, saying he has made a sound decision "about whether he's gonna be a candidate or not.