on trump. i m howard kurtz and this is mediabuzz. the debate will be hosted by bret baier and martha maccallum. i spoke to the anchor of the story from new york. martha maccallum, welcome. hi, howie, good to be with you. howie: i haven t seen a build up like this for a first debate at the beginning of a campaign since that 2015 fox debate with political newcomer donald trump. i turned to the other channels i see fox debate. what are people saying? why do you think that is? i think there s a lot of enthusiasm. i think people are much more politically engaged and probably since that 2015 debate and i think that people see this as , you know, entertainment that is very eye opening in terms of what s going on in the political world, so i think it s a huge opportunity for these candidates on this stage and we see it across-the-board that people are just more interested in politics they are more interested in what s going on, so i think it s great. howie: people didn t talk abo
Cristi is doing and go after him but doug burgham, the north dakota governor was on another network this morning and waffl ing and not taking a position and dodging and i think for candidates the worst place to be because it looks like you don t know what you believe and you re scared of the electorate and unwilling to take a position so you know, pick a side and run with it, but i do agree, pence is picking a new side here and that s a fascinating part of this race to watch. howie: his former vice president, so rich, i think part of this is as trump could be on the stage or not all the stuff we do. the media are so fixated on the former president, and he does make a lo is endlessly fascinating. he does have the four indictment s, but i think it kind of puts the other candidates at a huge disadvantage even with the upcoming debate where the guy won t be on the stage. there s just trump has this quality we ve talked about this before where so it s kind of a win-win proposition. if he