President Joe Biden (left) and former President Donald Trump (right) have agreed to hold two debates. Biden said he would not participate in election debates hosted by bipartisan committees.
AP
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump agreed Wednesday to hold two election debates. The first will be hosted by CNN on June 27th, and the second will be hosted by ABC on September 10th, setting the stage for the first presidential showdown of the year. several weeks.
The quick agreement on a date for the talks followed Democrats' announcement that they would not participate in the fall presidential debates, which are hosted by a bipartisan commission that has hosted them for more than 30 years. The Biden campaign is instead planning for the media to directly organize debates between Democratic and Republican candidates, with the first in late June and the second in September before early voting begins. proposed. In a post on his site Truth Social, Trump said he was “ready and willing” to debate Biden at the scheduled time.
Hours later, Biden said he had accepted CNN's invitation to the June debate, adding: “Nice to meet you, Donald.” President Trump said on Truth Social that he would be participating, adding, “Let's get ready for the Rumble!!!” And shortly thereafter, they agreed to a second round of debates on ABC.
“Trump says he will arrange his own transportation. I will also bring a plane,” Biden wrote to X. I plan on continuing for another four years. ”
Still, the two sides appear to have some disagreements over key issues about how to organize the debate, including agreeing on moderators and rules. Some of these very issues were the ones that prompted the creation of the Commission on Presidential Debates in 1987.
The Biden campaign had proposed excluding third-party candidates such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from the debates entirely. According to the debate commission's rules, Kennedy and other third-party candidates must secure enough voting access to win 270 electoral votes and receive more than 15% of the vote in some national polls. You can qualify if you earn a certain percentage.
CNN reported that the debate will be held in an Atlanta studio and that “there will be no audience in attendance.” The host and other details will be announced at a later date. The network kept the door open for Mr. Kennedy to participate, provided he or any other candidate met the same voting and ballot access requirements as the committee.
Just Wednesday morning, President Trump expressed his desire for a large audience to watch live.
President Trump said, “Mr. Biden is said to be afraid of crowds, but I strongly recommend holding more than one debate and a very large venue to increase excitement. There just aren't any.” “Please let me know when you will come.”
President Trump has called for expanded debates and early debates, arguing that voters should be able to see the two men face off well before early voting begins in September. He has repeatedly said he would debate Biden “anytime, anywhere, anywhere” and even suggested that the two men face off outside the Manhattan courthouse where he is currently on criminal trial in the hush money case. Some rallies have also used empty lecterns to mock Biden.
The Biden campaign has long held a grudge against the bipartisan commission for failing to apply its rules equally during the 2020 matchup between Biden and Trump, most notably because the commission was and failed to enforce new coronavirus testing rules. He consulted with television networks and some Republican lawmakers about ways to circumvent the commission's control over presidential debates.
Biden campaign chairwoman Jen O'Malley Dillon sent a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates on Wednesday stating that the Biden campaign objects to the commission's chosen fall date, which will take place after some Americans begin voting. He reiterated the same complaints expressed by the Commission. Trump camp. She also expressed her dissatisfaction with rule violations and the committee's insistence on holding the debate in front of a live audience.
“Debates should be conducted for the benefit of American voters watching on television or at home, not as entertainment for an in-person audience with noisy or destructive partisans and donors.” she said. “As was the case with the first televised debate in 1960, having just the candidate and the moderator in a television studio is a better and more cost-effective way to focus solely on the interests of voters.”
He objected to technical issues in the first debate with Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, and in 2020, the debate with Biden was canceled due to the Republican contracting the new coronavirus infection. Even though Mr. Trump was shaken by the incident, he lost little love for the committee. The Republican National Committee had already pledged not to work with the committee on the 2024 contest.
The commission did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
On May 1, the Trump campaign released a statement objecting to the committee's scheduled debate, saying it would “begin after early voting” and that voters have the right to hear the candidates' opinions before voting. “This is unacceptable,” he said.
O'Malley Dillon said debates “should be one-on-one, allowing voters to compare the only two candidates who statistically have a chance of winning the Electoral College. We shouldn't waste debate time on candidates who have no hope of becoming president.”
Kennedy said in a statement that Trump and Biden are “conspiring to lock America into a direct confrontation that 70% of Americans say they do not want.”
“They're trying to exclude me from the debate because they're afraid I'll win,” he said. “Keeping strong candidates out of the debate undermines democracy.”
As the debate got underway, Biden and Trump exchanged heated insults on social media, with both claiming victory in their previous showdown in 2020.
“Donald Trump lost to me twice in debates in 2020. He hasn't appeared in a debate since,” Biden wrote in a post on Site X, formerly known as Twitter. mentioned in. “Now he's acting like he wants to argue with me again. Well, let's have fun today, friend.”
President Trump called Biden “the worst debater I've ever faced. He can't put two sentences together!”
The Democratic president first signaled his intention to debate Trump last month in an interview with radio host Howard Stern, saying, “I'll be out there somewhere.” I don't know when. But I'm happy to discuss him. ” He hinted again last week that he was preparing for the debate, telling reporters as he left a White House event to “get ready.”
