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We are less than a month from the June 27 CNN debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. It's the first of two debates agreed to by the campaigns in one of the most consequential elections in the history of our country. There will be no live audience and the candidates will be seated in the hopes of engendering more civilized discourse and conversational attitudes.
Without an audience in the room, the rigor and intensity of the debate is even more reliant on the questioners than normal. The CNN moderators will have a responsibility to focus the conversation on the top concerns of American voters.
We know that issues like the economy, jobs, reproductive justice, gun safety, and climate change loom large for regular Americans, and will likely get significant attention in the debates. But there is another core topic in this election that profoundly concerns Americans, and which cannot be skipped over in this debate: The state of our democracy.
And it's no wonder. Americans are watching the culmination of a trial in New York that highlights the GOP candidate's willingness to interfere in the 2016 election by paying hush money to hide pertinent information from voters. And they remember all too keenly that in the 2020 election, our constitutional right to a peaceful transfer of power was disregarded in favor of violence, and a deadly insurrection that took place at the U.S. Capitol. At this moment, the first presidential election since Jan. 6, 2021, the topic of democracy in America has never been more critical
And it shows. According toapoll conducted this spring by Republican pollsters from Tarrance Group and Democratic pollsters from Lake Research Partners commissioned by the Institute of Politics and Public Service at Georgetown University, 81 percent of respondents stated that they believe democracy in America is currently being threatened, with 72 percent agreeing with that statement strongly.
Democracy is in the crosshairs, and at the first presidential debate we deserve to hear the candidate's positions on supporting the rule of law and a peaceful transfer of power. It is critical for voters to know their postures on this topic, and no moment is more apt for highlighting where Biden and Trump stand than the first debate. For Americans to truly have confidence in the franchise, they need to head to the polls knowing that their votes will be counted, and that the winner will move forward without unjust contestation, or the threat of another "big lie," like the one Trump and his supporters have been telling about a "stolen" 2020 election.
CNN must also give the candidates space to share their perspectives on how to further improve the election franchise, and the solutions they see to the deep-seated problems with our democracy. Candidates must be asked to share their thoughts on topics like the influx of corporate and special interest money into our system, gerrymandering that causes marginalized communities to be underrepresented in government, corruption of elected officials, and much more. Americans deserve to know if both candidates recognize these issues as problems, and how they intend to solve them. These issues matter deeply to regular people and may decide the fate of our country.
CNN, you have a vast responsibility. Hosting the first debate, in many ways, allows you to set the terms of the conversation going forward. Do not let down our nation. Our democracy depends on it.
Lisa Gilbert is executive vice president of Public Citizen.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
