Who is Susan Page's husband? A look at her over three-decade-long relationship with journalist Carl Leubsdorf
President Donald Trump came face-to-face with Democratic nominee Joe Biden in a chaotic first presidential debate on September 29, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. A lot has happened since then and with Trump contracting Covid-19 along with several top White House officials, it's not clear whether the next set of debates will be held or not. However, as per recent reports, Vice President Mike Pence and his Democratic rival Kamala Harris may still battle it out on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
In lieu of the looming threat of the virus, Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) has agreed to seat them 12 feet apart during the 90-minute debate, a source familiar with the discussions told Politico. The report also said that Biden campaign officials raised the candidate positioning as a "very serious concern" and the source also expressed the unease over lack of mask-wearing enforcement during the presidential debate in Cleveland.
The forthcoming debate will be moderated by Susan Page, who is currently the Washington Bureau Chief for USA Today. After Chris Wallace of Fox News faced much criticism over his debate conduct, such doubts are being raised for Page as well. The fact that she hosted an event at her residence for one of the members of the Trump administration has many questioning her ability to moderate the debate without any bias. As we wait for the debate to be held, here's a look at her personal life and career.
Susan Page's early life
Born in Wichita, Kansas, Susan Lea Page was raised by her parents, Mrs and Mr Robert Page, who was the president of an investment-holding company Garvey Inc. When she was just a child, she had two passions — music and journalism — but ultimately chose the latter. A 1973 graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, she went on to become a Pulitzer Fellow at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. After working for Newsday, she joined USA Today as White House correspondent in 1995.
In her illustrious career since the 1970s, the 69-year-old has covered six White House administrations and 10 presidential elections. Did you know she has interviewed the past nine presidents too? Once the host of award-winning video series for USA Today named 'Capital Download', she has also often guest-hosted 'The Diane Rehm Show' on national radio. She also has a couple of writing credits to her name. Her first book — a biography of former First Lady Barbara Bush titled 'The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty' — was published in 2019. That same year, she signed a deal to write a biography of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, tentatively titled 'Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Arc of Power'.
You wouldn't be able to guess her favorite interviewee. Fondly reminiscing one of her favorites, she said in a 2004 interview, "I think my favorite interview was in 2001 with Nobel Prize-winning physicist Stephen Hawking," adding, "What struck me was his life force and good humor despite his considerable handicaps. As Hawking painstakingly tapped out answers with his thumb, I sat there wishing my questions had been smarter."
Who is her husband, Carl Leubsdorf?
Back in 1982, she exchanged vows with Carl Philipp Leubsdorf, Washington bureau chief of The Dallas Morning News reports New York Times, the ceremony was performed at the couple's home in Washington by Reverend Jerry Musick of the Christian Heritage Assembly of God Church in Oxon Hill.
Leubsdorf graduated from the Fieldston School and Cornell University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He was first married to Carolyn (née Cleveland) Stockmeyer — a divorced mother of four children who served as the finance communications director for the Republican National Committee and the Agriculture Department's publications editor during the Bush administration. The couple had one son, Carl Leubsdorf Jr.
After his split with his first wife, he got married to Page and the couple has two sons together. As per several reports, he has previously worked for the Associated Press, the Washington Post, and the Baltimore Sun before joining the Dallas Morning News in 1981.