CNN anchor Anderson Cooper to host Presidential debate
Anderson Cooper (Nicholas Hunt/Getty)
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper will be the first openly gay person to host a US Presidential debate.
The Commission on Presidential Debates today confirmed the planned line-up for Presidential debates between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, and Vice Presidential candidates Tim Kaine and Mike Pence.
The ‘Anderson Cooper 360’ host will moderate the second in the line-up of presidential debates, on October 9 at Washington University in St. Louis. He will be joined by Martha Raddatz of ABC News.
The announcement marks the first time that an openly gay moderator has been selected for an official presidential debate.
Mr Trump and Mrs Clinton will face off for the first time on September 26, in a debate chaired by NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt in New York.
Under the agreed debate rules, third-party candidates Jill Stein and Gary Johnson would only be invited to the debates if they poll above 15 percent; a threshold which neither has crossed.
Mr Cooper recently revealed that he doesn’t even cast a vote in the election.
He told Howard Stern: “I don’t think I’m going to vote… I don’t think reporters should vote.
He continued: “A lot of reporters don’t vote. It’s a thing.
“I’ve had the debate. There have been years where I have voted because sometimes I thought maybe I should.
“I’ve gone back and forth on it. I don’t want to be influenced one way or the other.”
He continued: “I believe people should vote, but my role is to ask questions.
“I don’t like feeling like I’ve taken a stand. I think it’s something you actively need to fight against [as a reporter].”
