on thursday, Former President Donald Trump's campaign has called for a presidential debate to be held even sooner, the latest salvo in a continuing debate over a debate that may not happen at all.
Trump campaign co-directors Susie Wiles and Chris Lacivita have sent a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates asking that the schedule be moved “substantially earlier” than the current September and October dates. and proposed holding up to seven debates. The usual three. “The time to start these discussions is now,” they declared.
The Trump campaign's letter comes after reports that five major television news networks are working on a joint open letter asking Presidents Trump and Biden to commit to a debate.
“We, the undersigned national news organizations, request prospective presidential candidates to We request that you publicly commit to participating in the general election debate before the election.''of new york times.
It is not uncommon for some back and forth to occur over how to proceed with the discussion. But as I pointed out in February, it's far from certain that these discussions will happen this year. Rather than a serious proposal, the Trump campaign's letter appears to be a political post aimed at putting pressure on the committee and making Biden look bad. While his team is right that there can't be seven debates, and the increase in early voting means debates should be held earlier than in years past, the committee has already held the first debate earlier than the last. It's scheduled for 2 weeks early.
Mr. Biden's team has so far declined to engage in any discussion about Mr. Trump and did not respond to requests for comment for this article.
And while Mr. Trump has portrayed himself as a pro-debate candidate, telling Fox News on Thursday, “I'm fully open to any debate, any time, any place,” his recent track record shows that suggests the opposite. He refused to debate all of the major Republican opponents in 2024, robbing him of the chance to turn the race into a real competition.
“Donald Trump was a significant front-runner throughout the campaign,” Brett O'Donnell, former debate coach for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, told me. “When he wasn't in the debate, we weren't even in the arena, we were in the stands.”
Trump and his allies have been at odds with the committee for years. Trump threatened for months to sit out the 2020 debate, and in 2022 insisted on cooperating with the Republican National Committee, arguing that it is a bipartisan organization that has controlled debates since 1987. (and still continues). (co-chaired by the former RNC chairman) was “biased” against the Republican Party. In a letter Thursday, Trump's team complained that the committee had previously “bowed to the wishes of the Biden campaign on every front.”
The Trump campaign's list of demands closely mirrors what it asked for in 2020, when Trump threatened to sit out for a full year. Then in June, his campaign argued to the commission that it needed to move the debate date forward or add a fourth debate to allow more voters to vote early.
The 2020 debate has already shattered historical precedent. The second of three debates was canceled after President Trump contracted the coronavirus and refused to participate remotely.
At the time, not everyone wanted Biden to debate. Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged Biden not to “legitimize” Trump with the debate and predicted that Trump would “do things that undermine the dignity of the president.”
Over the past decade, it has become increasingly common for candidates of both parties to refuse to debate their opponents. Governors and senators have been quick to avoid debate, seeing only the downside: it's much easier to lose an argument than win.
One Democratic strategist who has been involved in dozens of statewide elections (and asked to remain anonymous because of his current work) said the public's commitment to debate institutions, from media organizations to local universities and civic groups, He told me that there was a growing sense of distrust. That means groups like the League of Women Voters and the Chamber of Commerce can no longer force candidates to debate.
“There's no organization that has the power to force people to do something if they don't want to do it,” the strategist said.
Strategists from both parties told me they think it's likely that Biden and Trump won't end up in a debate this election. And although both sides expected that the other side would ultimately be the one to veto it, they agreed that it would be bad for the country and difficult to reverse in the future.
That's the nature of norms, and once someone stops following them, it's very difficult to go back. And like much of American politics, these unwritten rules will last as long as both sides are willing to abide by them.
“I'm concerned that this will give future presidential candidates an excuse not to debate,” O'Donnell said. “They're very important. … They're an opportunity for all of America to really see democracy in action.”
Other notable stories:
- Former football player O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald L. Goldman in 1995, but later filed a civil suit for their deaths. Although he was found responsible, he died of cancer. As the news broke, various commentators reflected on how Simpson's police pursuit and subsequent murder trial were a harbinger of America's current media landscape. “This murder will demonstrate the power of electronic media to unite and tear a nation apart,” wrote television critic James Ponywozik. new york times. “What part of television was he in 1994 and 1995? It wasn't like that What about the O.J. Simpson trial? ” Meanwhile, scholar Michael Sokolow, who covered the Simpson story as a CNN assignment editor, said:reshared He wrote an article for CJR in 2019 about the difference between covering history and researching it later.
- Recently, Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal's News Group, spoke out over NBC's hiring (and ultimately abortion) of former Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel as a paid commentator. has been criticized. Now, The Associated Press' David Bauder examines another controversy involving Condé. The question is whether it's appropriate for him to serve as a press officer while being paid as a member of the boards of Walmart and Pepsi. Conde has said he recuses himself from all NBC coverage of the companies, but Bauder said his dual roles could at least be detrimental. recognized Conflicts of interest, and CNBC, the business-focused network Mr. Condé oversees, says it prohibits journalists and their spouses from owning stock for this reason.
- Yesterday was a busy day with media job news. Axios Appointed Aja Whitaker Moore as editor-in-chief. In other places, semaphoresMax Tani reported. intercept is set to name ben meussigformer deputy editor-in-chief. LA Timeshas been appointed interim editor-in-chief following the recent resignation of Roger Hodge. leverThe investigative newsroom, founded by former Bernie Sanders speechwriter David Sirota, is expanding, adding nine new staff members, bringing the newsroom's headcount to 19.and former staffers at WAMU, an NPR affiliate in Washington that ran a news site. DCist It is creating a “worker-led, community-based” dealership before closing this year.
- The local Teamsters union led a major strike in Pittsburgh, according to Pittsburgh's NPR affiliate WESA. pittsburgh post gazette (which employs union members as truck drivers) reached a settlement with the paper and voted to dissolve it. The decision infuriated the paper's four other unions, which continue to strike. post gazettereporters. The union president accused the Teamsters of engaging in a “divide-and-conquer strategy.” Teamsters representatives countered that the newsroom union had ruined the strike by having its members cross the picket line.
- And yesterday we learned that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison in the country earlier this year, wrote a memoir before his death, which is scheduled to be published in October.of times According to reports, Navalny wrote most of the book while recuperating in Germany after an attempted poisoning by Russian state agents in 2020, and wrote the book from prison after being arrested upon his return to Russia in 2021. It is said that he has written it down. Journalism, as we wrote after his death.
ICYMI: Lawmakers are fighting over privacy on two very different fronts.
Cameron Joseph is a freelance political reporter whose recent work includes: guardian, Los Angeles Times, rolling stoneand politiko magazine. Winner of the 2023 National Press Foundation Dirksen Award for Excellence in Coverage of Congress and the 2020 National Press Club Award for Excellence in Political Journalism. VICE News, Key points memo, new york daily news, the hill and national journal.
