A hapless U.K. reporter appears to have misunderstood a reference in the New York Times to famed “method” acting teacher Lee Strasberg and reported that he is, in costume, working with Kamala Harris as a stand-in to prep for Tuesday night’s debate with Donald Trump.
Maybe, next time Google “Strasberg” and find out he died in 1982?
The Telegraph hilariously reported that Harris is “preparing for the debate with a stand-in Trump, Lee Strasberg, an acting teacher who has been wearing a wide-shouldered boxy suit and red tie.”
The Times reference that inspired it merely said that the Trump stand-in was “in full Lee Strasberg method-acting mode, not just playing Donald J. Trump but inhabiting him, wearing a boxy suit and a long tie.”
Strasberg — who, we once again will point out, died in 1982 — counted future Oscar winners as his students, including Marlon Brando, Sidney Poitier, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Shelley Winters and Al Pacino. They studied together at the legendary Actors Studio in New York City.
After the error was called out on social media by Wired’s David Gilbert, the Nieman Journalism Lab’s Joshua Benton and others, The Telegraph scrubbed the Strasberg reference from its story, merely noting that the vice president “is preparing for the debate with a stand-in Trump, an advisor who has been wearing a wide-shouldered boxy suit and red tie.”
The Harris and Trump debate will air live on ABC from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, Sept. 10, at 9 p.m. EDT/6 p.m. PDT.
The debate will be 90 minutes long with two commercial breaks, moderated by ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis. There will be no audience.
In the rules for the debate released last week by ABC News, it’s noted that, as is often the case, candidates are not permitted to ask each other questions. Microphones will be muted for each candidate when their opponent is speaking, which proved to be a Trump advantage during his debate with President Joe Biden.
Also, per ABC News, “Moderators will seek to enforce timing agreements and ensure a ‘civilized’ discussion.”
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