Secondly, the moderator (such as Chris Wallace four years ago) can tilt things heavily against Trump.

One of the (many) problems with these debates (we have them here too) is the fact of the moderator or moderating panel asking the questions. If the organisers were serious, which they're not, the candidates would ask the questions. Some of those questions would be pointed or awkward, and the answers or non-answers would be miles more illuminating than anything we get in the current formats.