On ABC’s ‘This Week,’ a rare honest answer led to more confusion, not less

Sunday morning news shows — CBS’s “Face the Nation,” NBC’s “Meet the Press,” ABC’s “This Week,” CNN’s “State of the Union” and “Fox News Sunday,” to name a few — serve several purposes. But there are two main ones.

One is to let moderators press those in power on their policies and plans. The other is to give those same officials a platform to explain them.

The two often aren’t in sync. Moderators usually ask the right questions and pertinent follow-ups, while the guests far too often put their spin on things or dodge the questions altogether.

Occasionally, however, you get a moment when the moderator asks the right questions, the guest gives an honest answer and the result is something that likely impacts the events of the world.

Such a moment may have happened on Sunday’s “This Week” on ABC. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told “This Week” moderator Jonathan Karl that tariff exemptions announced Friday on smartphones and other electronics are likely only temporary.

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