“Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe slammed CNN's “Kabuki” debate on Thursday on “The Megyn Kelly Show” on Wednesday.
President Joe Biden and 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump are scheduled to face off Thursday night in a 90-minute debate moderated by CNN's Dana Bash and Jake Tapper. Rowe told Kelly that he had “no idea” whether the debate would take place because the situation was fluid, and he criticized the media for not being trustworthy.
“Of course I'll watch it. I might even make some popcorn,” Rowe said. “What else can I do but witness it? There's so much to see.”
“I'm not really sure what to think” about reports that Biden is “lurking” at Camp David, Lowe said. Preparation He went to the debate with the support of several White House and campaign aides.
“When I think about the characters in this film, when I think about the Founding Fathers, how they prepared, the way people spoke at that time, and the sheer poetry that a lot of these people had, their mastery of language, their control of rhetoric, their ability to make a point on the spot, to make a point, to be understood — that kind of thing. I don't know where that went,” Rowe said. “I mean, the ability to write letters…go back and read letters from soldiers in the Revolutionary War, from the Civil War. Even in World War I, we seemed to have much more control and understanding of how we were being understood, even by ordinary people.”
“This has been trivialized on all sides, especially in the media, into a kind of, um, kabuki theater,” Rowe said. “When I watch these debates, I don't even know what to look at, because it all reeks of setup, performance, and one-off acting. It's just so drenched in it.”
Lowe said “we should be skeptical of the media” because “our media is more skeptical than it's ever been.” The “Dirty Jobs” host told Kelly that “we need more people” like the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. (Related article: 'I don't want to underestimate him': Donald Trump calls Biden a 'worthy debater')
“No one can look into the lens now and say how things are. They try but you can almost hear the crowds giggling from sea to shining sea. 'What do you mean that's how things are? Who are you to say that's how things are? What do you know?' We don't trust people in front of the camera as much as we used to,” Rowe said.
“Our media is not doing its job, so the rest of us have an obligation to accept this level of skepticism,” Rowe added. “So not only is Walter Cronkite dead, so is the attempt to say, 'Trust me.'
“Meghan, this affects everything in our world, from spokespeople like me who are occasionally hired, to journalists, to politicians,” Rowe said. “Anyone who stares into a camera lens and talks very seriously about something and then finishes off with something like, 'Trust what I say,' is the least persuasive, least persuasive person. It's not for sale anymore. In my opinion, the way to be persuasive today is to say, 'Don't believe what I say. I wasn't actually there, but this is what I read, and this is what I think, and this is what I believe, and here's why.'” We find ourselves in a situation where people are very skeptical, skeptical, and often very cynical about whatever it is, whether it's a product that you're using, or a fact that you're reporting, or a headline that you're questioning. So I honestly don't think there's any benefit to trying to be persuasive and be persuasive.”
Rowe said he was “excited to see what happens” in the debate because he didn't know whether Trump and Biden could “fundamentally overcome” the “deep doubts” of “many viewers.”
