CBS News, the network sponsoring Tuesday’s vice-presidential debate, is focused on providing a televised forum for voters to learn more about the candidates, Senator JD Vance of Ohio and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota.
The job largely falls to Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan, the pair of CBS political journalists moderating what may be the last event of the campaign to reach tens of millions of Americans simultaneously.
Here’s who they are.
Norah O’Donnell
Anchor, “CBS Evening News”
Ms. O’Donnell, 50, has anchored “CBS Evening News” since 2019. She has a lengthy background in political and campaign journalism. Ms. O’Donnell joined CBS in 2011 as its chief White House correspondent, after more than a decade at NBC, where she covered the White House, Congress, and the Pentagon. Before that, she was a print journalist at Roll Call, a newspaper covering Capitol Hill.
In 2020, just before the pandemic, Ms. O’Donnell and the CBS host Gayle King moderated a Democratic presidential primary debate in South Carolina. Ms. O’Donnell and Ms. King were co-hosts of “CBS This Morning” from 2012 to 2019.
In July, Ms. O’Donnell said that she would step down from the “Evening News” after the election. She will become a senior correspondent at CBS News and contribute to its popular news program, “60 Minutes.”
Like previous debate moderators, Ms. O’Donnell has not granted interviews ahead of Tuesday’s matchup. But CBS released a statement from her, in which she said her goal as a moderator was “to ensure a substantive and civil conversation that helps voters understand more about what can be complex policy positions.”
Margaret Brennan
Moderator, “Face the Nation”
Ms. Brennan, 44, has moderated “Face the Nation,” the flagship CBS Sunday morning public affairs show, since 2018. She is also CBS’s chief foreign affairs correspondent.
Before she took over “Face the Nation,” Ms. Brennan covered the White House and the State Department. She joined CBS in 2012 following a career as a financial journalist at CNBC and Bloomberg Television. Her reporting has encompassed the Trump administration and significant international stories involving American diplomacy in the Middle East and with North Korea.
“In a debate, we’re performing a public service and that is to tee up a conversation in which the candidates use the time themselves to make their case about why their policy is best for Americans,” Mr. Brennan said in a statement provided by CBS.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
