(Headline USA) Twelve news organizations on Sunday urged presumptive presidential nominees Joe Biden and Donald Trump to agree to debates, saying they were a “rich tradition” that have been part of every general election campaign since 1976.
While Trump, who did not participate in debates for the Republican nomination—citing the Republican National Committee’s demand that participants pledge to support the primary winner as one of the principle reasons—he has indicated a willingness to take on his 2020 rival.
Trump campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita said in a letter this past week that “we have already indicated President Trump is willing to debate anytime, any place and anywhere—and the time to start these debates is now.”
They cited the seven 1858 Illinois Senate debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, saying “certainly today’s America deserves as much.”
Biden, however, has not committed to debating him again. Instread, Democrats have tried to use their central campaign message of invalidating the views and legitimacy of Trump and his supporters to suggest that debates with the former president would be beneath the office of the presidency.
Asked on March 8 whether he would commit to a debate with Trump, Biden said, “it depends on his behavior.”
Yet, many suspect that Biden, 81, simply isn’t capable of performing up to speed on the debate state, and that the forum would almost certainly give Trump an advantage.
The incumbent president has frequently fumbled in public appearances when not supplied with pre-scripted talking points and pre-vetted media questions. In fact, some suspect that he wore an earpiece during the 2020 debates, although his mental acuity has deteriorated even further since then.
Trump, by contrast, frequently speaks off the cuff during his regular rallies, which can last for hours in some cases. He has not only supported the idea of debating Biden, but wants it to be earlier than scheduled.
Although invitations have not been formally issued, the news organizations said it was not too early for each campaign to say publicly that it will participate in the three presidential and one vice presidential forum set by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.
“If there is one thing Americans can agree on during this polarized time, it is that the stakes of this election are exceptionally high,” the organizations said in a joint statement. “Amidst that backdrop, there is simply no substitute for the candidates debating with each other, and before the American people, their visions for the future of our nation.”
ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, PBS, NBC, NPR and the Associated Press all signed on to the letter. C-SPAN, NewsNation and Univision also joined the letter calling for debates. Only one newspaper, USA Today, added its voice. The Washington Post declined a request to join.
Certainly the broadcasters could use the juice that debates may bring. Television news ratings are down significantly compared with the 2020 campaign, although there are other factors involved, such as cord-cutting and the pandemic, that increased interest in news four years ago.
There were no Democratic debates this presidential cycle, and Trump’s refusal to participate in the GOP forums depressed interest in them since he was already regarded as the de-facto frontrunner and party leader.
Biden and Trump debated twice in 2020. A third debate was canceled after Trump, then president, tested positive for COVID-19 and would not debate remotely.
The Republican National Committee voted in 2022 to no longer participate in forums sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. The Trump campaign has not indicated it would adhere to that, but did have some conditions.
The campaign managers said the commission selected a “demonstrably anti-Trump moderator” in then-Fox News host Chris Wallace in 2020 and wants assurances the commission debates are fair and impartial.
The Trump campaign also wants the timetable moved up, saying that many Americans will have already voted by Sept. 16, Oct. 1 and Oct. 9, the dates of the three debates set by the commission.
The Biden campaign declined comment on the news organizations’ letter, pointing to the president’s earlier statement. There was no immediate response from the Trump campaign.
But on Saturday, Trump held a rally in northeast Pennsylvania with two lecterns set up on the stage: one for him to give a speech, the other to symbolize what he said was Biden’s refusal to debate him. The second lectern had a placard that read, “Anytime. Anywhere. Anyplace.”
Midway through his campaign speech, Trump turned to his right and pointed to the second lectern.
“We have a little, look at this, it’s for him,” he said. “See the podium? I’m calling on Crooked Joe Biden to debate anytime, anywhere, any place. Right there. And we have to debate because our country is going in the wrong direction so badly and while it’s a little bit typically early we have to debate. We have to explain to the American people what the hell is going on,” Trump said.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
