The last time President Biden and former President Donald Trump participated in a presidential debate was nearly four years ago, when the debate took place in Tennessee at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. . Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump will finally meet again. Today we'll explain what's different and why it's important.
🤼 Biden throws gauntlets
On Wednesday, Biden challenged Trump to debate him “twice” to “have a nice day” before the November election. “Let's set a date, Donald,” the President said. add that “I hear Wednesday is free, and it’s the only day President Trump doesn’t have to be in court.
🥊 Trump fights back
President Trump called Biden “the worst debater I've ever faced.” “Please tell me when,” Trump wrote. “I'll be there.”
🤝 The network issues an invitation, which the candidate accepts.
Within hours, Biden and Trump tentatively agreed to two debates. One will take place in Atlanta on June 27th, hosted by CNN, and the other on September 10th, hosted by ABC News. The schedule and details will be finalized after further negotiations.
🙃 What’s different this time and why?
In a letter released Wednesday morning, Biden's campaign chairman laid out his boss' terms for the debate, which so far all parties appear to have accepted. These include some big breaks with tradition.
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Biden has refused to participate in the regular schedule of three general election rounds hosted by the Commission on Presidential Debates, which had already been scheduled for September 16, October 1 and October 9, and instead announced that the candidates proposed negotiating directly with the Presidential Debates Commission. Each other and the “press” organize their own two debates on him.
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Biden said the debate should start earlier than usual in June because the committee's date is too late to influence the growing number of Americans who participate in early voting.
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Biden then claimed that the debate would be held in a “television studio with just the candidates and the moderators,” rather than “with an in-person audience,” and that the microphones would be shut off at the end of the candidates' allotted time. [of] Noisy or destructive partisans and donors. ”
🤔 The strategy behind Biden's demands
The Biden campaign's official position is that it upended debate tradition simply because “the presidential commission model…is not consistent with the changing structure of elections and the interests of voters.” But early voters are particularly important to Democrats, and the further the debate gets from Election Day, the more time Biden may need to recover from his onstage missteps.
🙋 Why did Trump embrace it so enthusiastically?
Trump initially took issue with Biden's terms, writing on Truth Social that he “strongly recommends holding more than one debate and a very large venue to create excitement.” But Trump's staffers have also been complaining to the committee for months, calling for an early independent discussion, and they unanimously said, “Mr. I believe it's right.'' Mr. Biden has declined significantly since 2020, and his debate with Mr. Trump will make that clear. ”
🕳️ What about RFK, Junior and other third party candidates?
One reason for circumventing the committee is that Biden and Trump could block him from appearing even if national polls show that his approval rating reaches 15%, one of the usual eligibility criteria. Thing. President Kennedy said in his statement, “They are trying to remove me from the debate because they are afraid I will win.” “Keeping strong candidates out of the debate undermines democracy.”
❌ Future risks
Both candidates are likely to be rusty when they appear on stage in June. Trump was absent from all five 2024 Republican primary debates. As president, Biden has done the following. But by setting expectations so low for Biden, “he can't put two sentences together!” The former president said that he may be preparing himself for a repeat of 2020. Biden, on the other hand, hopes that controlling the terms of the debate will help allay concerns about his age and leadership, while also reminding voters why they rejected Trump in 2020. There is.
