Bergen County's Dana Bash will co-moderate CNN's presidential debate

Bergen County's own Dana Bash, CNN's chief political correspondent, will be front and center co-moderating Thursday's presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

Bash, who attended Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, will join fellow veteran CNN anchor Jake Tapper as the two keep in check the incumbent and former president during the 90-minute segment, which is set to air at 9 p.m.

The debate, held at CNN's studios in Atlanta, will be the first time either candidate has been on a debate stage since 2020. It will be the first in U.S. history between an incumbent and a former president, after Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. failed to qualify.

Bash, a self-avowed Jersey girl who in 2022 reminisced to NorthJersey.com about her fond memories growing up in Bergen County, lived in Teaneck as a preschooler before her family moved to the Washington, D.C. area. She later moved back to New Jersey, living in Montvale until she returned to Washington, D.C. to attend The George Washington University.

After interning at several networks during college, Bash got her foot in the door at CNN and was a presence on both sides of the camera, working as associate producer and then producer of public affairs shows.

She felt the rush of breaking news journalism when she got thrust into the coverage of the impeachment of President Bill Clinton in 1992. She later moderated the second Democratic presidential primary debate in Detroit in 2019, which lasted for two days. She also co-moderated a Republican primary debate earlier this year.

"Doing the debates is among the coolest, most important experiences I've had in my career. They're so consequential," she told NorthJersey.com in 2022.

Bash is host of CNN's "Inside Politics" and co-anchors "State of the Union" with Tapper. She has launched her own series, "Being..." and "Badass Women of Washington," and will be releasing her book "America's Deadliest Election" on Sept. 3.

Bash, whose father, Stuart Schwartz, was an award-winning former senior broadcast producer for ABC News, recalled to NorthJersey.com her favorite spots in Bergen County when she was a teen: Dairy Queen on Chestnut Ridge Road and The Ridge Diner. At the age of 14, she worked at Van Riper's Farm in Woodcliff Lake, and later held jobs at a bagel shop, Friendly's, and the Great American Party Store, which was owned by her then-boyfriend's parents.

Thursday's event is the earliest televised general election debate, with Biden and Trump bucking the format of the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, the traditional host of the televised events since 1960.

Both candidates accepted CNN's invite in May to host the debate and agreed to the network's format and a set of rules, according to CNN.

Muted microphone

The standoff between the two front-runners ahead of November's general election will include two commercial breaks, but campaign staff cannot interact with candidates during that time. No prewritten notes or props will be allowed on stage, with candidates only given a pen, paper and a bottle of water, CNN said.

The rules also include a muted microphone, which will only unmute when it is a candidate's turn to speak. The debate won't feature a live studio audience, a departure from debates in the past, and candidates' podium positions will be determined by a coin flip, the network said in a news release.

Bash and Tapper “will use all tools at their disposal to enforce timing and ensure a civilized discussion,” according to CNN.

The debate will air live on CNN and will stream for free on CNN.com. The network is also offering its feed to other networks for simulcast, with all major broadcast and cable news networks planning to do so.

A second presidential debate is slated for Sept. 10 on ABC.

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This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Bergen County NJ's Dana Bash co-moderating CNN's presidential debate