The Commission on Presidential Debates is pushing back against criticism from the Trump campaign over the 2024 debate schedule.
The bipartisan group that announced the dates and locations for the three debates late last year responded Wednesday after Trump campaign officials said the dates were “unacceptable.”
“CPD's sole mission is to sponsor and produce general election debates that inform and enlighten the public,” the commission said in a statement. “Our schedule is designed with that single mission in mind.”
The first debate is scheduled for September 16th at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.
On Tuesday, the Trump campaign issued a statement saying the committee's schedule would not begin “until millions of Americans have already cast their votes.”
The overwhelming majority of states will not have started mailing out absentee ballots by the first debate. A small number of states will begin mailing absentee ballots in early September, but most states will begin mailing them within a month and a half after the election, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. This year's election day is November 5th.
“As always, CPD considered multiple factors in selecting the date for the debate to ensure that the American people have access to the debate,” the committee said. “These factors include religious and federal holidays, early voting, and poll deadlines in each state.”
The committee added that “CPD intentionally selected September 16th after a comprehensive review of each state's early voting rules,” adding that the September debate was “one of the most It will be the earliest general election debate to be aired on television.
Mr. Trump's co-campaign managers, Chris Lacivita and Susie Wiles, objected to the committee's response and repeated their criticisms.
A day earlier, they said they were “committed to making this happen, with or without the Commission on Presidential Debates.”
The commission, founded in 1987, has sponsored every presidential debate for decades.
President Joe Biden said in an interview last week that he would be “happy to discuss” President Trump.
The former president, who skipped all 2024 Republican primary debates, later posted on social media his desire to debate, writing in all caps, “Anywhere, Anytime, Anywhere.”
