Fox News proved that the Republican presidential primaries are more than former President Trump’s as nearly 13 million viewers tuned in

to Fox News

for the first candidates debate on August 23.

Will audiences come back for more? Trump, who is leading the pack for the Republican nomination while facing four criminal charges, will not appear on stage again when the candidates meet

again

Wednesday at 6pm Pacific

on

at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. (Fox News and Fox Business Network will carry the event with a Spanish-language broadcaster

–

language feed broadcast on Univision (KMEX Channel 34 in Los Angeles).

There will be two debutants at the anchor desk, with Stuart Varney, who hosts the daily Fox Business Network program “Varney & Co.” coordinates, and Dana Perino, co-host of Fox News shows “The Five” and “America’s Newsroom.” ,”

want to be

submit questions. They will be joined by Univision’s evening news anchor Ilia Caldern, who was part of a Democratic primary debate in 2012.

The astute British-born Varney intervenes after Fox Business used hosts Maria Bartiromo and Neil Cavuto for previous candidate debates. (Although Fox News did not give a reason for the change,

Bartiromo is a central figure

in the defamation cases it faced in connection with its reporting of Trump’s false claims of election fraud during the 2020 election.) The network settled with

Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million

while another case involving voting machine company Smarmatic is pending.

Varney, 75, has been a part of cable news since Ted Turner first flipped the switch on CNN in 1980. In the 1990s, he co-anchored the network’s “Moneyline” alongside Willow Bay.

now

head of the USC journalism school and wife of Walt Disney Co. chairman Bob Iger. Varney left CNN

2021 2001

and moved to Fox News in 2004.

Although Varney has evolved from a purely business anchor to a conservative commentator on Fox Business, he is not nearly as gentle with Republicans as other Fox News hosts who share his political leanings.

Following Trump’s announcement of his 2024 run for the White House, Varney harshly criticized his guest, the former president’s daughter-in-law Lara.

Those of us who looked at it, it didn’t look like it had the old magic, you know what I mean? Varney said. After Lara Trump disagreed, Varney went on to say that the former president would have a tough time in a general election battle.

The exchange shows that Varney is capable of creating a viral moment during Wednesday’s proceedings

.,

In a recent conversation, the late-blooming moderator offered some thoughts on what to expect.

Are you surprised?

,

although

,

that after the last debate, which was watched by many people, it didn’t really move the polls? Trump still has a big lead.

But maybe it moved the needle. His support among Republican primary voters has increased since the last debate.

You’re holding this event at the Reagan Library. And as a journalist who was around to report on Reagan

a

government What do you think Ronald Reagan would think of today’s Republican Party?

Ooh, that’s a good question. I’m not sure. It appears that the Republican Party has moved away from the classic 1980 Reagan position of “cut taxes, go for growth.” There is still a large part of the Republican Party that says, “Cut taxes, go for growth.” But there is still a large element that says “spending,” and that is a significant portion of the Republican Party today. Look, this debate will highlight the politics, personality and achievements of candidates other than Trump. That is the purpose of the debate. That’s what they will be judged on. I think they’re all going to wait and try to break out. Trump has a huge lead; they have to break out. What will they say?

You tend to be quite blunt in your program. You told Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie that he has zero chance of winning. How did he react to that when he was off camera? Did he say anything?

No, he didn’t. I do give opinions about my program, as you know. But in a debate I am neutral. I just want the best debate possible to get the most out of the candidates for the public.

In preparation for this debate with co-host of “Noticiero Univision”, Ilia Caldern, who collaborates Jorge Ramosa strong advocate for the Latino community on immigration issues, I’m wondering if you’ve gained any new insights into the situation at the southern border.

We are looking for a new voice in a presidential debate, and Ilia will provide that new voice.

But have you talked to her about the immigration issue and maybe approached it in a different way than what we’re seeing on Fox News?

Well, I’ve talked about it a lot on my program, and I think it will come up in the debate. How it happens is another story. Ilia will have a lot to say about that.

In 2019, you had a conversation with former Congressman Joe Walsh in which you said Trump has never lied to the American public. That is clearly not the case. Do you still believe that statement?

I made a professional mistake. I got into an argument with a guest. I shouldn’t have done it.// Did he address the statement?

What was the mistake?

Responding to a guest’s question in the heat of the moment.

You were the first person to report from CNN’s New York bureau when it launched in 1980. Do you remember what the story was?

Yes, I do indeed. CNN launched from Atlanta on June 1, 1980. The next morning I opened the New York Bureau and represented CNN from New York for the first time. And the first story was called something you’ve never heard of: the London Gold Fix.

That sounds like a different era.

Prehistoric, man, I’m telling you. And at that time, a bunch of gold dealers met in London and set the gold price for that morning. There would be a gold fix in the afternoon. And that was because communications around the world were nothing like today. It had to be done in person. But that was my first story

at no

CNN way back. It would have been June 2, 1980.

You’ve been in the US for decades. You are an American citizen. But you still sound unashamedly British in your show.

Oh, stop it, stop it, stop it. Listen, if I ever tried to imitate an American accent for you, you, sir, would be rolling on the floor. I can not do it. I don’t know why I can’t do it. I can do Australian, I can do New Zealand, I can do Scottish, I can do Cockney, but I can’t do American. And I’m never going to do it on American television again.

Has a supervisor ever tried to change your accent or say, “You should try to sound more American, Stuart?”

No. But in 1976 or ’77 I went to the newsrooms of the three networks in San Francisco and asked for a job in TV news. I had a few years of experience at Radio Hong Kong. And I went in and asked, “Hey, here I am. I know the news business,” and they all said, “No. You can’t record with an English accent.” And they said, “Look, what if you reported a murder in Oakland with a voice like that. Stuart, you have no credibility,” and that was that. Finally, I responded to an ad in the San Francisco Chronicle and the ad said, “Wanted: Entry Level TV News Anchor.” And of course I called, I’m a novice TV newsreader. And it was a financial program on Channel 20 in San Francisco. At that time it was the ethnic channel. And some guys had bought three hours of airtime early in the morning to put on a financial show. And they thought a British accent would work just fine. They gave me the job and here I am.