Presidential debate moderators: Who are Jake Tapper and Dana Bash?

The first presidential debate is almost here, and the event will be different from previous presidential debates.

From the absence of a live studio audience to an unusually early debate date, the televised event will air on CNN's main network, CNN International, CNN en Español, CNN Max as well as streaming.

The faceoff between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump is set to air Thursday, June 27 at 9 p.m. ET and moderated by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.

The debate will take place at CNN's Atlanta studios, where the moderators for the 90-minute event, Tapper and Bash, will be running the show. They both previously moderated the Republican primary debate back in January, and they co-host the talk show "State of the Union" together.

Here is what you should know about Tapper and Bash ahead of the debate.

Who is Jake Tapper?

One member of the presidential moderator duo, Jake Tapper, is no stranger to the world of media.

With a career spanning more than 20 years, the journalist and author serves as the lead Washington, D.C., anchor and chief Washington correspondent for CNN.

Growing up in Philadelphia, Tapper graduated from Dartmouth College in 1991. He has hosted CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" since 2013. Alongside fellow reporter Dana Bash, he also co-hosts CNN's "State of the Union" morning show, which has been airing since June 2015. Fun fact: Tapper is also a cartoon artist who sketched a scene of Stormy Daniels' testimony during Trump's recent hush money trial.

Tapper has moderated presidential debates before, including a GOP debate in 2015 and the last Democratic debate in 2020 between Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Who is Dana Bash?

Veteran journalist Dana Bash is the other half of CNN's "State of the Union" program.

She serves as the chief political correspondent for CNN and anchors the daily program, "Inside Politics with Dana Bash." Bash graduated from The George Washington University with a degree in political communications.

Like her co-host, Jake Tapper, Bash has also seen her fair share of political debates. She moderated two presidential primary debates in the 2020 election and six presidential primary debates during the 2016 election cycle. Tapper and Bash also co-moderated a Republican primary debate at the start of this year. She has conducted sit-down interviews with the majority of the 2020 presidential candidates, which includes Trump, Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Bernie Sanders, and Governors Jeb Bush and John Kasich, according to CNN.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Who are presidential debate moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash?