Meet Steve Scully, Moderator Of The October 15 Presidential Debate Between Joe Biden And Donald Trump
He'll be what stands between Biden & Trump when things get ugly.
Youtube With the 2020 presidential election just two months away, Donald Trump and Joe Biden have officially accepted their nominations from the Republican and Democratic parties, and the official presidential debate schedule is now here. The first debate begins September 29 with Chris Wallace at the helm, followed by three more, including a second one planned for October 15 to be moderated by Steve Scully. The October 15 debate will be held as a town hall meeting with questions from undecided voters in Miami.
Who is Steve Scully, the person who will be responsible for making sure those questions are answered fairly?
Here's what you need to know about him ahead of the debate.
Steve Scully is a C-SPAN producer and journalist.
Scully is best known for his work at C-SPAN going all the way back to 1990, where he's a political editor and correspondent and hosts the network's morning call-in show, Washington Journal. Earlier in his career, Scully also served on the board of the White House Correspondents Assocation, even being elected president for 2006-2007.
Scully is known as "the most patient man on television."
On Last Week Tonight, host John Oliver has dubbed Scully "the most patient man on television," sharing video clips of him calmly listening and responding to callers on Washington Journal who probably would have frustrated anyone else. Regardless of what the callers say (including but not limited to suggesting calling in Rambo for help with the government), Scully is always stone-faced, responding "okay" and not losing his cool.
Steve Scully interned for Joe Biden when he was a senator in Delaware.
Interestingly enough, Scully's career started by interning with Joe Biden, as he shared in an interview and now, he'll be moderating a debate involving Biden and his run for president.
"I came to school in Washington, D.C., went to American University and had a couple of internships. I worked for Joe Biden, Senator from Delaware at the time, as an intern, so I had my first chance to really see politics up close in Washington," he shared.
Scully interviewed Trump last year.
Scully also has a little experience firsthand with the other candidate who will take part in the race: sitting president Donald Trump. He interviewed him for C-SPAN last year in July 2019, keeping the same calm demeanor about him that he usually reserves for his Washington Journal callers.
Who is Steve Scully's wife?
Scully is married to Kathryn Scully and together, they have four children: Mary Cate, Danny, Christen, and Natalie, who Scully adopted in 2008 after he and Kathryn felt a calling from their faith to adopt a baby together. Today, the Scully family lives in Virginia.
Scully is looking forward to moderating the debate.
After the announcement about the debates was made, Scully took to Twitter to share the news.
"Four years ago I had the honor of serving as the back-up moderator for the @debates 3 presidential and 1 VP. This year it is a privilege to moderate the 2nd debate at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami," he wrote.
Nicole Pomarico is an entertainment and lifestyle writer whose work has appeared in Cosmo, Us Weekly, Refinery29, and more.