LA Times: Behind The Scenes At The Fox Debate

LA Times: Behind The Scenes At The Fox Debate

With the Republican presidential primary debate less than 10 hours away, Fox News anchors Chris Wallace, Megyn Kelly and Bret Baier sat at a long table with their producers and once again went over the game plan for the big night.

Leaning into their laptop computers, they reviewed not just the questions they would ask but the structure of every query, keeping in mind the constraints of time and the need to avoid repeating topics. As they sorted and re-sorted questions, the unpredictability of real estate tycoon and reality-TV star Donald Trump was never far from their minds.

"I would say the level is about an eight on the concern meter because of the unknown," Baier said.

Baier even had a "nuclear option" at the ready for Trump if he ignored all protocol.

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