Senate showdown: Bret Baier previews Sanders, Graham face-off
Fox News ‘Special Report’ host Bret Baier is set to moderate a debate between Senators Bernie Sanders (I) and Lindsay Graham (R), featured on Fox Nation’s new special, ‘The Senate Project.’
Fox Nation will present a landmark, live-streaming event on Monday at 12 p.m. ET when Fox News anchor Bret Baier moderates a one-hour policy debate between Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Bernie Sanders, I-VT, to kick off The Senate Project.
"It’s really exciting," Baier said Sunday on Fox News. "You can't think of two senators who are more ideologically split apart."
The U.S. Senate has often been referred to as "the world’s greatest deliberative body" since the 19th century, and the Edward M. Kennedy Institute, the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation & the Bipartisan Policy Center have teamed up to launch a series of Oxford-style debates between leading U.S. Senators dubbed The Senate Project to build upon the longstanding tradition.
The inaugural Senate Project event will stream live exclusively on Fox Nation from the Edward M. Ted Kennedy Institute in Boston’s full-size replica of the U.S. Senate Chamber. "They will be in the well of the U.S. Senate, a replicate of that. And that's where the debate will take place on big issues," Baier said.
As the "Special Report" anchor said, Graham, a pro-Trump Republican, and Sanders, who labels himself a democratic socialist, are about as ideologically different as it gets. Graham has blasted the left in recent days, saying they’re "going to lead to somebody getting killed" over reluctance to pass legislation protecting Supreme Court justices' families. Sanders, on the other hand, has urged Democrats to shape up if they don’t want to lose control of the House and Senate in November’s midterm elections.
The goal of "The Senate Project is to reintroduce the culture of seeking common ground and consensus that has been the essence of the Senate since it was conceived in 1789. An in-person audience of approximately 200 invited guests will be on hand.
The famous cross-aisle relationship of the late Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, provided the inspiration for the milestone event. The debate will try to capture the spirit of the historic relationship between the two late lawmakers, as Hatch once quipped that when he and Kennedy agreed on a policy issue, "everyone turned to get out of the way."
Lindsey Graham will battle Bernie Sanders in the inaugural Oxford-style debate between leading U.S. senators dubbed The Senate Project. (Fox News)
The Fox Nation debate will be Oxford-style and long-form, as Graham and Sanders will go head-to-head about the key issues of the day. The high-profile Senators should have no shortage of topics to consider, as the Jan. 6 committee, inflation, gas prices, gun control, the war in Ukraine, the recent assassination attempt of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and a looming Supreme Court abortion decision have filled the recent news cycle with polarizing topics.
"Each senator will have time, and then they'll sit down with me for some questions and conversation. The idea is to not only highlight the differences, but also maybe get to some places where they agree," Baier said. "It's kind of the way the Senate used to work, and that's the purpose of the project."
Sign up on Fox Nation today to stream ‘The Senate Project’ and watch Senators Bernie Sanders and Lindsey Graham square off on Monday at 12 p.m. ET.
The Oxford-style format of the one-hour, Fox Nation event aims to allow both Graham and Sanders a chance to explore areas of constructive disagreement and search for bipartisan compromise through comprehensive, considerate debate.
Sen. Bernie Sanders will face off with Sen. Lindsey Graham Monday in a debate streamed exclusively on Fox Nation.
One topic the senators presumably won’t see eye-to-eye on is gun control, as Graham recently tweeted he would "vigorously oppose" the House-passed gun control bill, calling it an "extreme constitutional overreach" that represent the "wish list" of the left. Sanders recently sent a tweet taking the opposite approach.
"Ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons. Prohibit high-capacity magazines. Expand background checks. End the gun show loophole. If we can’t get 60 votes in the Senate, then we must end the filibuster," Sanders wrote.
PRESIDENT BIDEN URGES CONGRESS TO PASS BIPARTISAN GUN FRAMEWORK
Fox Nation viewers can expect fireworks, as neither Senator is known to pull a punch.
"We are pleased to partner with the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation, and the Edward M. Kennedy Institute to present this full debate without interruption to our Fox Nation subscribers. FOX News Media is home to the most politically diverse audience in cable news and The Senate Project’s mission of providing the public with access to thoughtful, extensive debates from all sides of the political spectrum is well-suited for our viewers," FOX News Media President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace said.
Fox Nation will present a live-streaming debate on Monday at 12 p.m. ET when Fox News anchor Bret Baier moderates the one-hour event between Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bernie Sanders.
Bipartisan Policy Center president Jason Grumet added that U.S. "democracy rests on the ability to engage in serious issues and resolve legitimate differences. The Senate Project highlights the creativity and courage required to govern a divided nation."
Two other debates – one at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., will be held in July, and another at the Hatch Foundation's campus in Utah further down the calendar – will be held.
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Fox News’ Charles Creitz and Graham Colton contributed to this report.
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