7 questions debate moderators should ask Trump, but won’t

The moderators at Tuesday night’s presidential debate know full well what they’re going to get out of Donald Trump.
Asked about an economic plan, he’ll say the word “tariffs” over and over, as if that means anything. Asked about immigration, he’ll say something along the lines of, “Two words: Mass. Deportation. Two beautiful words.” Questioned on his past lies about the 2020 election or any of his multitudinous legal problems, he’ll say “RIGGED” and “WITCH HUNT” until exhaustion sets in.
Sprinkle in a heavy dose of bigotry and not-too-veiled racism and a bit of far-off-topic rambling and that’ll be that. Trump has the depth of a kiddie pool. If he’s asked general debate questions by ABC News moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis, they’ll get the same load he dumps on his rally goers.
Many see this debate as pivotal moment for Trump’s opponent. The thinking is that Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, having replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket in late July, has yet to fully introduce herself to voters.
That’s fine, and I hope the moderators ask the vice president smart and pointed questions.
But of at least equal importance is that Davis and Muir press Trump on the absurd and dangerous things he has said, and demand specifics from a man who avoids specificity like he avoids the truth.
Why is Trump getting a pass?Trump is 78 and barely coherent. Where’s everyone who questioned Biden’s age and fitness?
I have my doubts that the moderators are up to the task.
Simply presenting Trump as a normal presidential candidate standing onstage next to the sitting vice president without also highlighting that he’s a convicted felon who refused to participate in the peaceful transfer of power is giving the man a leg up.
The reality, for those who still believe in such a thing, is that Trump is a historically abnormal candidate.
He spouts conspiracies like a high-pressure sprinkler, he has been indicted for attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election, he paints a dystopian picture of present-day America and he’s surrounded by people who keep going to prison.
He never shuts up about “the late, great Hannibal Lecter,” and he’s forever fleecing the followers he has hooked with violent rhetoric, selling them Trump-branded sneakers and Christmas ornaments and cheap hats.
Sadly, normalizing him has become reflexive for news outlets in moments like this. So if the moderators want to do a true public service for voters, they will ask Trump questions like these:
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If part of the moderators’ job is to help voters learn more about Harris, then it’s incumbent on them to ask questions that pierce Trump’s armor of blather.
When he doesn’t answer, they need to ask follow-ups, and they should continue until he reveals something beyond his carnival-barking patter.
It’s a tall task, but anything less is a disservice. 
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on X, formerly Twitter, @RexHuppke and Facebook facebook.com/RexIsAJerk