Gayle King is expressing admiration for fellow broadcast journalists David Muir and Linsey Davis over their moderation of the Sept. 10 presidential debate on ABC News.
The CBS Mornings host — who co-moderated the South Carolina Democratic primary debate in 2020 — spoke exclusively to PEOPLE at InStyle‘s 30th birthday event, praising the recent ABC News moderators for how they handled the back and forth between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
“I thought they did a great job, David and Linsey. I sent them both a note because I remember I have done it before and I thought it was like herding cats,” King, 69, says.
“Now, granted, we had more candidates and we have a studio audience which makes a difference, but they had the two of them and I thought they were great with the way they did the follow-ups and the questions that they asked. I thought they did great.”
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty
King tells PEOPLE that the hardest component of serving as a moderator is that you “want to give both candidates equal time.”
She continues: “And I thought they did. As a matter of fact, I heard that they had done the minute-by-minute and Donald Trump got five minutes more than Kamala Harris did.”
King adds that you also “want to be fair” as a moderator, saying, “You want to make sure that each candidate gets a chance to express their opinion in the allotted time. It’s always very difficult.”
CBS News’ Bill Whitaker, Norah O’Donnell, Gayle King, Major Garrett and Margaret Brennan host a presidential primary debate in 2020.
Evelyn Hockstein/CBS via Getty Images
The ABC News presidential debate on Sept. 10 marked the first time Trump, 78, had ever met Harris, 59, in person.
During the debate, candidates answered questions about healthcare, foreign policy, the economy, the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wadeand Project 2025.
According to CNN, Trump made more than 30 false claims during the debate, ranging from conspiracy theories regarding immigrants “eating pets” and that Democrats “have abortion in the ninth month.”
Following the debate, Harris’ campaign called for a rematch. Trump, however, declined the challenge, falsely claiming: “Polls clearly show that I won.”
Their running mates, Tim Walz and J.D. Vance, will participate in a vice presidential debate on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
