HOME / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Is Susan Page a better moderator than Chris Wallace? Internet asks her to be hard on Harris at VP debate

One tweeted, '@SusanPage hey Susan! @FoxNewsSunday I hope you watched Chris Wallace’s epic fail! Please try hard to be unbiased! It serves America better!'

Joe Biden’s VP pick Sen. Kamala Harris and current vice president Mike Pence will come together for the only face-off at the 2020 vice presidential debate on October 7. The event will take place in Salt Lake City at 9 pm EDT and will see USA Today’s Washington Bureau chief Susan Page serve as the moderator. She is the first print reporter chosen by the Commission on Presidential debate and her role follows the previous presidential debate between Biden and Donald Trump, which was moderated by Chris Wallace. 

The first discourse of the 2020 presidential debate was subjected to severe criticism besides being called “the worst”, as many noted that Wallace failed at stopping Trump from cutting Biden off throughout the debate, while some were of the opinion that Wallace saved Biden from answering tough questions by barely letting him talk. 

Ahead of the 2020 vice presidential debate, Americans have taken to social media to ask if Page can make a better moderator than Wallace. Only a few days ago, the veteran journalist came under fire for hosting “Girls Night” at her persona residence in 2018, in honor of the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, Seema Verma, who is currently serving in the Trump Administrator. 

Page’s proximity to sources close to the White House had people questioning her moderation in the 2020 vice presidential debate. USA Today defended Page’s event by saying they are “routinely hosted” by a female journalist and to “honor significant accomplishments of both Democratic and Republican women” and argued that Page wasn’t paid by the federal government to host an event for the Republicans.

However, The Washington Post journalist Jeremy Barr, commenting on Page’s role in the forthcoming vice presidential debate following the news regarding her private “Girls Night” stated in an article, “her leading role in hosting the event at her home-raised eyebrows on social media from observers who suggested that it conflicted with her ability to cover the administration as an impartial journalist.”

 A significant number of people have expressed a similar opinion on Twitter, with the majority of asking if Page will be biased towards Harris. One tweeted, "@SusanPage hey Susan! @FoxNewsSunday I hope you watched Chris Wallace’s epic fail! Please try hard to be unbiased! It serves America better!"

Another added, "Will Susan page ask @KamalaHarris the hard questions and demand answers? Or will she let her slide like @FoxNewsSunday chris Wallace let Biden off the hook? Liz Peek: 2020 VP debate – why this one matters more than most". One asked, "Do you think that the Vice Presidential debate moderator Susan Page (from USA Today) will be an unfair moderator like Chris Wallace was?" While one noted, "Why are republicans controlling the debates? Chris Wallace of Fox News and now Susan page of USA Today. Page is clearly a Republican given her party for one of pence directors Seema Verma (who is unqualified for her position )"