Fox moderators stick to economy

Fox Business Network moderators for the fourth GOP debate stuck to the economy in their initial questioning Tuesday after their counterparts in last month’s CNBC debate were ripped for “gotcha” questions.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who led the charge accusing the CNBC moderators of bias, responded kindly when fielding a question from Maria Bartiromo on his tax plan.

“Well Maria, it’s great to be with you, it’s great to be here in Milwaukee,” Cruz said to Bartiromo, one of three questioners in the debate hosted by Fox Business and The Wall Street Journal. 

{mosads}Fox Business host Neil Cavuto set the tone from the onset, emphasizing in opening remarks that the debate was focused on “the economy and what each of you would do to improve it,” and the candidates’ remarks on economic issues.

“That is the agenda tonight, how each of you plans to make America better tomorrow,” he said.

Cavuto spoke slowly as he led with a question about raising the minimum wage, directing his query to real estate mogul Donald Trump. He also politely asked Ben Carson to clarify his position on the issue, after the retired neurosurgeon offered a more anecdotal response.

The Fox Business debate was expected to be less fractious than the CNBC debate, which led to the Republican National Committee (RNC) dropping NBC as a debate host in February.

It was a markedly different opening from the Oct. 28 debate in Boulder, Colo., which started with a question from CNBC host John Harwood questioning whether Trump was running a “comic book” White House campaign.

After the debate, the RNC praised the Fox Business moderators for their handling of the debate, saying the goal of focusing on the issues was accomplished. 

“Our candidates, not the moderators, were at the center of tonight’s debate, and they were all treated with fairness and respect,” RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement immediately after the debate ended.  

“Thanks to a well-run debate, the country was able to see our diverse field of talented and exceptionally qualified candidates exchange ideas for how to reinvigorate the economy and put Americans back to work,” Priebus added. 

Priebus was more blunt on Twitter, saying, “And that @CNBC is how you run a debate.”

And that @CNBC is how you run a debate.

— Reince Priebus (@Reince) November 11, 2015

Updated at 11:28 p.m.