Spotlight falls on CBS’s Margaret Brennan, Norah O’Donnell on VP debate night

When vice presidential nominees Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) take to the debate stage Tuesday night, they’ll be partly sharing the spotlight with two of CBS’s leading journalists.  

The Paramount-owned network tapped veteran newscasters Margaret Brennan and Norah O’Donnell to moderate Tuesday night’s clash, scheduled to air live in prime time from New York City five weeks before election day.

Brennan serves as moderator of “Face the Nation,” the network’s flagship Sunday morning public affairs program. O’Donnell has for the past several years presided as anchor for “CBS Evening News,” a post she will vacate at the end of the year.

The debate moderators are likely to face intense scrutiny during and after the forum, which will be simulcast on other networks and viewed by millions online.

The pair will be watched closely over the questions they pose to the candidates, how well they enforce the agreed-upon rules for the debate and their willingness to push back on false or misleading claims made on the stage.

Adding heat to the situation is a promise on Monday by former President Trump, a frequent critic of the mainstream news media, to offer live “play-by-play” commentary on the showdown on his Truth Social platform.

Vance, for his part, clashed with Brennan directly this summer during an appearance on “Face the Nation” over his stance on foreign policy and trade. The Ohio Republican, like Trump, has made media criticism a staple of his stump speeches on the campaign trail this summer.

Trump and his allies relentlessly attacked moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis, two anchors for ABC News after last month’s debate between the GOP nominee and Vice President Harris.

The former president complained his debate with Harris that night was “two-on-one” after Muir and Davis pushed back on his unfounded claims about immigrants and other issues in real time.

CBS executives told the New York Times this week Brennan and O’Donnell will give the candidates “the opportunity to fact-check each other in real time.”

The network will also display a QR code in the corner of the screen during the telecast Tuesday night, directing viewers to CBS News’s website, where a team of more than a dozen journalists will be offering a debate fact-check in real time.

How the network handles what could be the last debate of the presidential election cycle — as Trump has so far rejected invitations for a second forum against Harris — also will be closely watched.