Morning Glory: ABC News and its pass/fail test

CNN “passed” that test with the first presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in June; opinion is divided on whether its interview with Vice President Kamala Harris passed. (CNN has moderated five Republican presidential primary debates and is the only non-network affiliate in the debate prep room, so credit goes to the network involved, not the moderator. Debates and major interviews are collaborative efforts by the organizations that host them.)

ABC has a heavy burden to carry on Tuesday. To my knowledge, the network does not employ a single host, contributor or executive in a significant position who is likely to vote for Trump. This means that in a country where the polls are evenly split between “blue” and “red,” the likelihood that the views of Trump supporters will be reflected in the debate preparation process is virtually zero, and therefore the likelihood that the debate will address questions that such voters consider important and, indeed, crucial to the country's choice is extremely low.

How can ABC be so well positioned that the questions vetted by its debate team and posed by moderators David Muir and Lindsey Davis won't cause a Bud Light-level collapse for ABC and its parent company, Disney, brands? The surest way is to rely heavily on questions from the commander in chief. Presidents don't pass laws; they either sign bills that Congress sends them or veto such bills. The hypotheticals about whether a candidate would sign this or that hypothetical bill are merely a hobby for the ideologues who ask the questions.

There is no question that the President controls America’s national security and the deployment and use of its military. Key examples of where this power comes into play include (1) President Biden’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan and, as a result, (2) supporting or rejecting Israel in its multi-front war with Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and of course Iran (where many supporters of the Jewish state consider the mullahs in Tehran to be “the head of the snake”). A third obvious question in this category is whether former President Trump was right to order the killing of Qassem Soleimani in Iraq on January 3, 2020.

Click here to read more FOX News Opinion

There are many highly relevant questions in this area, such as whether U.S. troops would be sent to defend the Philippines, a treaty ally, amid an escalating conflict with the People's Liberation Army Navy, or to defend Taiwan if it were attacked by China.

Another obvious area is America's southern border, where the agenda is sure to be on how both candidates will deal with the more than 10 million migrants who have crossed into the US uninvited over the past three and a half years.

Trump ally offers debate strategy to beat Harris

Enforcement of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 rests with the President and his executive appointees, and as the Biden/Harris Administration proposes new controversial regulations regarding Title IX, an obvious and pressing question is whether and why the candidates believe biological boys who identify as girls should be allowed to participate in scholastic sports.

While we know where both candidates stand on abortion, it is not a priority. However, FDA-approved drugs that produce abortions have been the subject of numerous lawsuits, so questions in this area are not inappropriate, but if asked, they should be coupled with questions about when prescription of such drugs becomes inappropriate. Planned Parenthood states on its website that “Generally, you can get a medication abortion within 77 days (11 weeks) after the first day of your last menstrual period.” The group adds that “If it has been more than 78 days since the first day of your last menstrual period, you can have an abortion in a clinic to end your pregnancy.” The question of ensuring interstate availability of this federally approved drug is not particularly appropriate since the Supreme Court has ruled in a case regarding the current availability of this drug, but liberals and Democrats would undoubtedly welcome questions about these drugs, and this is not a completely hypothetical question. The next president will have authority over the Department of Health and Human Services, which controls the FDA, just as he has authority over the Department of Education, which enforces Title IX. These are questions that should be asked of the president.

So does the new president's future response to anti-Semitic outbursts on college campuses. So does the pace and success of the huge spending on the Green New Deal provisions already enacted. So does the future of nuclear energy and permitting reform to facilitate the extraction and export of fossil fuels. If it's an area where the president can act alone, it should be on the agenda.

Click here to get the FOX News app

All of these are legitimate questions. Will they actually be asked? It would be interesting to ask both candidates how they evaluate the other's choice for vice president. There are 100 fair and tough questions to ask.

If ABC asks questions that feel sharp and fair to both red and blue America, and that are as difficult for former President Trump to answer as they were for VP Harris, the network — and by extension Disney — will pass. If not, the nation and voters will have both passed by Wednesday, stating, “No.”

Hugh Hewitt is the host of “The Hugh Hewitt Show,” broadcast weekdays from 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM on the Salem Radio Network and simulcast on the Salem News Channel. Hugh wakes up America on over 400 affiliates nationwide and on all streaming platforms where SNC is available. He is a frequent guest on Fox News Channel's News Roundtable hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6:00 PM ET. A native of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a professor of law at Chapman University's Fowler School of Law, where he has taught constitutional law since 1996. Hewitt began his eponymous radio show in Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt has appeared frequently on all major national news television stations, hosted television shows on PBS and MSNBC, contributed to all major American newspapers, authored 12 books, and moderated numerous Republican presidential debates. He most recently moderated the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in 2015-2016. In his radio show and column, Hewitt focuses on the Constitution, national security, American politics, the Cleveland Browns and the Guardians. During his 40 years of broadcasting experience, Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests, from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republicans George W. Bush and Donald Trump. In this column, we preview the top stories that will be headlining today's radio/television shows.

To read more articles by Hugh Hewitt click here