ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos told CNN that former President Trump should be asked in the next presidential debate whether he believes in the results of the 2020 election.
Asked by CNN host Abby Phillips on Monday night what the “most important question” would be for both candidates during the June 27 debate, which the network will host, Stephanopoulos responded that it should be “very simple.”
“Who won the last election?” he said. “Let’s discuss and debate.”
ABC’s Stephanopoulos says broadcasting live Trump interview is ‘journalistic misconduct’
ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos told CNN host Abby Phillips that former President Trump should be asked if he believes in the results of the 2020 election. (CNN)
Stephanopoulos said he is “mindful” that when he speaks with candidates or politicians who do not acknowledge that the 2020 election was fully legitimate, he “doesn’t touch on other issues.”
“I’m not going to participate in any kind of pretense that equates the legitimacy of elections and a peaceful transition of power with an argument for tax cuts and environmental regulations,” he explained. “If you can’t cross that basic line of, ‘The last election wasn’t stolen,’ and ‘We’ll abide by the results of the next election,’ then I think that’s all voters and viewers need to know.”
“If they’re going to lie about something this big, why should we be able to trust anything else they want to say,” Stephanopoulos said. “This is an absolutely fundamental question that people need to face as they make their choice in November.”
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Stephanopoulos said the Trump-Biden debate would be a “true test” with both candidates speaking in front of millions of people. (Left: Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images, Right: (Photographer: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images))
Stephanopoulos said the debate between Trump and Biden will be a “real test” because both candidates will be speaking “in front of 140 million people,” adding that Biden will also have to answer questions from voters.
“Of course the Biden team will have to address voters’ concerns about the economy and inflation – those are important – but the fundamental issue is whether or not they will accept the results of the election and whether or not they will accept a peaceful transition of power,” he said.
Stephanopoulos warned that Trump’s campaign promises for a second term should be taken seriously.
The ABC host, who worked as an aide to President Bill Clinton, has recently begun delivering sharp, on-air commentary about the importance of the election on his Sunday show “This Week.” In April, he warned against treating the election like a “normal” campaign, and last week he said Trump’s guilty verdict in his New York trial presented voters with a stark choice about whether they want to be led by a convicted felon.
CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will moderate the upcoming debate, the first of two the candidates have agreed to hold this year.
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In a recent interview, Stephanopoulos said, Media He banned live television interviews with President Trump, calling it “journalistic misconduct.”
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Fox News’ Gabriel Hayes contributed to this report.
