President Donald J. Trump delivers his remarks Saturday, Feb. 29, 2019, during his appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Md. (Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour)
Vice-President Joe Biden speaks during a welcoming and swearing in ceremony for Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel at the Pentagon, March 14, 2013. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley/Released)
Joe Biden’s campaign proposed two debates with Donald Trump, reports The Hill’s Brett Samuels. Neither Biden or Trump did any debates during the primary elections, and Biden’s team proposed the debates outside the auspices of the Commission on Presidential Debates. The tactic of avoiding the commission may be an effort to deny Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. a place on stage with the major party candidates. So, will Trump and Biden debate? Brett Samuels reports for The Hill, writing:
President Biden’s campaign proposed two debates with former President Trump on Wednesday, bucking the Commission on Presidential Debates and potentially setting the stage for a faceoff as soon as next month.
The Biden campaign called for the first debate to take place in late June, after the president returns from the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Europe and after Trump’s hush money trial in New York will likely have concluded.
The campaign suggested a second debate in September ahead of the start of early voting in many states, as well as a vice presidential debate in late July after the Republican National Convention.
“As Donald Trump has said he will debate ‘anytime, anywhere,’ we hope both campaigns can quickly accept broadcast media debate invitations on the parameters above,” Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon wrote in a letter to the commission Wednesday. “Americans need a debate on the issues – not a tedious debate about debates.”
The Biden campaign said it would work directly with news organizations to set up the debates, spurring the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has facilitated the debates between presidential candidates since 1988. O’Malley Dillon in her letter suggested coordinating with outlets that hosted GOP primary debates in 2016 and Democratic primary debates in 2020 to avoid any notion of bias.
Trump, who has repeatedly questioned Biden’s mental acuity and ability to do the job, said Wednesday he would accept the terms proposed by the Biden campaign.
“I am Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times in June and September,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “I would strongly recommend more than two debates and, for excitement purposes, a very large venue, although Biden is supposedly afraid of crowds – That’s only because he doesn’t get them. Just tell me when, I’ll be there. ‘Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!’”
Negotiations directly between the two campaigns could also keep independent and third-party candidates, most notably Robert F. Kennedy Jr., from joining Biden and Trump on the debate stage.
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