Hugh Hewitt wants to avoid George Stephanopoulos’s brand of “gamesmanship” when he hosts an early Republican primary debate.
“I won’t be asking questions that aren’t on the minds of center-right voters,” said Hewitt, a conservative talk radio host who has been selected to participate in September in one of the first GOP presidential debates of the 2016 presidential campaign.
What Hewitt calls the “Stephanopoulos moment” is a reference to the time when ABC News anchorman and former Democratic operative George Stephanopoulos asked the 2012 Republican presidential candidates whether states have a right to outlaw contraception. The issue had not been raised throughout the campaign season up to that point, and no Republican candidate had suggested that contraception should be illegal.
Hewitt, a commentator well liked by reporters and journalists across ideological lines, recalled the question as “the worst example of gamesmanship” from the communications director for Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.
“It was just completely out of left field and has been the source of much ridicule since, but it did damage that debate,” Hewitt told the Washington Examiner in an interview. “It advanced a Democratic Party narrative.”
It was announced Tuesday that Salem Media Group, which syndicates Hewitt’s show, is partnering with CNN for three of the GOP primary debates. The debates will air on CNN.
Though CNN has not officially confirmed which of its news anchors will participate in moderating the first debate, a source close to the arrangement said it will be Jake Tapper.
“Obviously there are front runners but no final decisions have been made,” said a CNN spokesperson.
Hewitt said he would be “thrilled” if Tapper were chosen but that he’s also a fan of CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Wolf Blitzer.
The debate will take place Sept. 16 in California. It follows a debate to be hosted by Fox News in August.
Following the 2012 campaign, which saw a large and varied slate of candidates and a very robust debate schedule, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus began reconfiguring the GOP primary process — notably by limiting the number of RNC-sanctioned debates.
“When we set out to improve the debates, I promised conservative media would be part of the process,” said Priebus in a statement. “Salem will help the Republican Party have meaningful debates about new ideas for the future, while Democrats simply coronate [likely Democratic presidential candidate] Hillary Clinton.”
Hewitt said his goal for the debate is to ask questions that will help GOP primary voters distinguish the candidates.
“There are a lot of questions that are controversial within the Republican Party,” he said, including questions on federal education standards (“Common Core”) and foreign policy (the so-called “Bush Doctrine”). “There are all sorts of questions that can clarify for a Republican primary voter who they ought to support. That’s what a debate ought to do: Help voters figure out who they ought to support.”
Hewitt’s show is mostly known for featuring a wide range of guests from both the news media and political world. His interview style is colored by a seemingly genuine curiosity for information but a willingness to turn confrontational.
Conservatives who work in commentary and news media lauded Hewitt’s upcoming role in the debate.
“That is fantastic,” conservative commentator Erick Erickson told the Examiner media desk. “Hugh has sharp analytical skills to not just formulate a sharp question, but dig in to it when someone is being evasive.”
“He will be a great interviewer,” said Richard Grenell, a frequent critic of the mainstream press and a Fox News contributor. “Hugh is tough, fair and will seek to get details. He won’t settle for getting basic spin from candidates.”
Brent Bozell, president of the conservative Media Research Center, also spoke favorably of Hewitt and said that Jake Tapper would do well as the moderator. “I think Jake would be good,” he said. “I think Jake Tapper would be driven to be as professional as possible. Hugh Hewitt can’t help but have an effect on whoever the CNN person is.”
Hewitt recently made headlines for an interview with Mother Jones reporter David Corn, who has accused Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly of embellishing his own record as a war correspondent. The interview ended with Corn hanging up on Hewitt after a 45-minute back-and-forth.
Bloomberg Politics reporter Dave Weigel said it’s that style that makes Hewitt a good choice to ask questions at the debate. “I think it’s a perfect match of event and moderator. He’s just a sharp interviewer who pushes people, but not with ‘gotchas’,” Weigel said. “It’s because it comes from a place of not wanting to bring the guys [he interviews] down — sometimes when he does, it’s fantastic — but for him, it’s news if he just gets them to explain their position more than they have before.”
