PowerfulJRE/YouTubeCast your minds back, if you will, to 2016. Back to a time just before Trump became president, when… well I’m struggling to think of anything particularly good about that year to be honest.
But still, cast your minds back to the presidential elections, when Trump and Clinton circled each other like slow, old sharks who had eaten too much.
Their debates in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election became almost legendary, where Hillary fought graciously but Trump was, unfortunately, Trump. Like a high school bully during a meeting with the head teacher, he knew what to say to please his audience while also literally threatening his opponent.
But while Trump prowled around the stage like a stalker who had forgotten who he was stalking, the moderators – Lester Holt, Martha Raddatz, Anderson Cooper and Chris Wallace – did manage to fire some questions at him.
For example, after a question from the audience of ‘Do you feel you are modelling appropriate and positive behaviour for today’s youth?’, Cooper followed it with: ‘You brag that you have sexually assaulted women. Do you understand that?’
My cat interacting with a kitten for the first time is just like when trump stalked behind Hilary during the debate pic.twitter.com/OxhJlmEEKa
— Michaela Leanne (@MeekaylaT16) July 4, 2018
As we’re now just over a year away from the 2020 elections, thoughts are once again turning to the presidential debates between candidates.
Will we see some more slow, sad stalking on the stage? Hopefully not, because thousands of people have signed a petition to make podcast host, comedian and commentator Joe Rogan a moderator, whose laid back but informative manner seems to have made him a popular choice.
The petition, on Change.org, has so far been signed by more than 100,000 people.
OMG. This was the debate when trump was lurking behind Hilary https://t.co/niZM1s34Cr
— Nuckin Futs (@nochance56) September 13, 2017
It states:
We are petitioning for the Commission on the Presidential Debates to elect Joe Rogan as one of the moderators for the 2020 Presidential Debate. Here are the reasons why we believe this would be a great decision:
1. Joe Rogan is a widely respected host who has hosted interviews with politicians, economists, scientists, and other popular figures, who come from various walks of life.
2. Joe Rogan has experience with interviewing both progressive and conservative thinkers. Figures such as Andrew Yang (D), Tulsi Gabbard (D), Kyle Kulinski (D), Gary Johnson (L), Benjamin Shapiro (R), and Candace Owens (R), have all appeared on “The Joe Rogan Experience” program.
Even Bernie Sanders has appeared on the podcast.
GettyThe petition continues:
3. Joe Rogan has an audience containing viewers from all areas of the political spectrum. Joe Rogan is not registered under any political party and is well-known for having civil, productive, and interesting, conversations about political issues without partisan bias.
Please help us in our goal to elect Joe Rogan as one of the moderators for the 2020 Presidential Debate! Rogan would make a great moderator and would draw in more interested viewers for the debate.
It would certainly boost viewing figures among the younger generation. Rogan for presidential debate moderator 2020? It’s not that far-fetched is it?
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.