Donald Trump's vision for the upcoming presidential debates doesn't include any moderators whatsoever. On the heels of widespread criticism of NBC's Matt Lauer, who hosted last week's Commander-in-Chief Forum, Trump proposed just getting rid of moderators entirely for the presidential debates between himself and Hillary Clinton. That way, Trump said, no one can be accused of going too easy on one candidate while shellacking another, like Lauer was.
"Let Hillary and I sit there and just debate," Trump said during an interview Monday with CNBC's Squawk Box. "I think the system is being rigged so it's going to be a very unfair debate. I can see it happening right now because everyone was saying 'he was soft on Trump,' well now the new person is going to try and be really hard on Trump just to show the establishment what he can do. I think it's very unfair what they are doing. So I think we should have a debate with no moderator, just Hillary and I sitting there talking."
Trump and Clinton will take the debate stage for the first time Sept. 26. Watch Trump's full explanation of the benefits of a freeform debate, starting at the 50-second mark below. Becca Stanek
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
What Nick Fuentes and the Groypers wantThe Explainer White supremacism has a new face in the US: a clean-cut 27-year-old with a vast social media following
-
5 highly amusing cartoons about rising health insurance premiumsCartoon Artists take on the ACA, Christmas road hazards, and more
-
Codeword: December 21, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
-
House GOP revolt forces vote on ACA subsidiesSpeed Read The new health care bill would lower some costs but not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
-
Hegseth rejects release of full boat strike footageSpeed Read There are calls to release video of the military killing two survivors of a Sept. 2 missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat
-
Trump vows naval blockade of most Venezuelan oilSpeed Read The announcement further escalates pressure on President Nicolás Maduro
-
Kushner drops Trump hotel project in SerbiaSpeed Read Affinity Partners pulled out of a deal to finance a Trump-branded development in Belgrade
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
