Media Research Center founder and President L. Brent Bozell III is sending a scathing letter of advice to NBC moderators, confronting the network on the potential — and very likely — bias of Lester Holt and Kristen Welker, who will be moderating the third Republican presidential primary debate on November 8, Breitbart News has exclusively learned.
The third presidential debate will be held in Miami, Florida, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. Two of the moderators are NBC personalities — Holt of Nightly News and Welker of Meet the Press. They will be joined by The Hugh Hewitt Show host Hugh Hewitt.
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However, due to the biased, establishment nature of the NBC network, Bozell offered advice to the network ahead of the debate, reminding them that the purpose of the debate is to help GOP voters select their nominee for the 2024 presidential election.
“Yet, your past performances moderating debates and your slanted news coverage on behalf of NBC make me very doubtful whether you can be effective in this process. But I write this out of eternal optimism that anyone can learn. I’m also willing to be schooled if I am wrong. Here are the five most important things we believe you should internalize as you finalize your debate prep,” he wrote in the letter, exclusively obtained by Breitbart News.
Bozell emphasized that NBC moderators must understand their role in the debate, reminding NBC that it is not a participant, combatant, or candidate and therefore should approach the Republican candidates with a sense of neutrality rather than question them in an adversarial manner.
“This kind of approach might provide laughs and earn slaps on the back at your New York dinner parties, but it does nothing to help Republican voters select their nominee,” he wrote, urging the network to also recognize — and accept — the fact that viewers are conservative voters who do not want to feel disrespected by the moderators.
“While recognizing the chasm that exists between you and your viewers, don’t ever disrespect them. They love their country, believe in the dignity of every human being, and have the humility to give thanks to their Creator for making them in His image,” he wrote before urging NBC to focus on issues that “Republican voters care about” — including securing the borders, helping Israel, securing parental rights and the rights of the unborn, and addressing the national crime wave — rather than left-wing pet projects.
Bozell continued, giving tips on how to frame the questions properly rather than using their opportunity on the national stage to do things such as “implicitly accuse the candidates of being trans-phobes simply because they do not believe that forcing female athletes to compete against men is about ‘equality.’”
He wrote in part:
Third, focus on the issues Republican voters care about, not the ones you prioritize. This should be the easiest principle to follow, but it is the one that debate moderators always fail. So let me make it very simple: Republican primary voters care about securing our borders and helping Israel save itself from the barbarian hordes, fixing our economy and out-of-control inflation, eliminating waste from the federal budget and restoring the role of parents in their children’s education, protecting the life of every human being while also addressing the national crime wave, and growing the economy and our national security to reduce the threat from communist China. Sticking to these issues and challenging the candidates to address them would be a great start.
Fourth, after identifying the right issues, it is essential how you frame them. For example, use real data about the economy when asking the candidates how they intend to turn things around. Biden’s snake oil-salesmen rhetoric about “increasing spending to reduce inflation” is intellectually dishonest and will not fly. Similarly, do not implicitly accuse the candidates of being trans-phobes simply because they do not believe that forcing female athletes to compete against men is about “equality.” Just follow this basic rule if these examples are too confusing: don’t use any of the talking points put in your in-box every morning by the DNC. They may feel like a warm security blanket to you, but they will not serve your viewing audience well.
Finally, Bozell offered the fifth and perhaps “most important” piece of advice.
“Exercise every ounce of self discipline you can muster to resist the habit of functioning like a Democrat political operative,” he said. “It is not your job to coax Republicans to vote for Joe Biden in the general election or to cajole Democrats to stay faithful to their party.”
Bozell acknowledged that his advice will likely “fall flat” on NBC but expressed hope that NBC moderators will “allow the candidates to work out their differences on the stage, letting the chips fall where they may.”
“Voters don’t want to hear from you. They want to hear from those with the courage to put their names on the ballot to fight for America,” he added. “Just get out of the way and give democracy a chance.”
MRC’s NewsBusters has also compiled prime examples of why Bozell’s warning is valid, showcasing several examples of the moderators’ bias. One of those examples includes Welker’s recent conversation with former President Donald Trump, which she used to offer Democrat talking points with lines such as “Democrats aren’t saying that, Democrats are not saying that” when discussing late-term abortion.
“Does it bother you though that women say their lives are being put at risk? Do you feel you bear any responsibility because as you say you are responsible for having Roe v. Wade overturned?” she continued.
Similarly, Holt has a history of anti-GOP bias, which he showcased during a 2016 debate between Trump and then-Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton.
The debate comes months after Republican National Committee (RNC) chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told Breitbart News Daily that every GOP debate would have a “conservative partner.” However, at the time, she said it would be difficult to completely exclude the mainstream media, given that there are not enough conservative networks to work with.
Ronna McDaniel, Chairwoman of the Republican Party, speaks during the 2023 Republican National Committee Winter Meeting in Dana Point, California, on January 27, 2023. – Divided as never before, the Republican party must choose a new Republican National Committee Chair on Friday, at the meeting where Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is advancing his pawns to compete with Donald Trump’s bid for the White House in 2024. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
“You’re gonna have a conservative element of every single debate. But the reality is, you know, there’s not enough conservative networks. We can’t do all the debates on Fox,” McDaniel explained.
“So that’s an issue we’re going to be facing and dealing with as we go forward, but there will be a conservative partner with every single debate,” she added.
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This next debate’s “conservative element” will be Hugh Hewitt of the Salem Radio Network, and it comes on the heels of controversy from the last debate, which saw Fox News Media’s Stuart Varney and Dana Perino moderating alongside UNIVISION’s Ilia Calderón, the latter of whom opened the debate in Spanish and pushed for amnesty.
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