Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to commit to debatesOn Sunday, twelve news organizations asked expected presidential nominees Joe Biden and Donald Trump to consent to debates, calling them a “rich tradition” that has been part of every general election campaign since 1976.
ABC News, The Associated Press, CBS News, CNN, C-SPAN, Fox News, NBC News, NewsNation, Univision, NPR, PBS NewsHour, and USA Today joined forces to sign the letter.
In the letter, the news organizations requested the candidates “to publicly commit to participating in general election debates before November’s election.”
While Trump, who did not participate in the Republican nomination debates, has shown a readiness to face his 2020 opponent, the Democratic president has not promised to debate him again.
The extraordinary step comes as it is unclear whether the two contenders would debate on stage before the November election. Biden has not openly committed to debate Trump, but he hasn’t ruled it out.
Trump, declined to participate
The Commission on Presidential Debates has set three presidential debates for September and October in Texas, Virginia, and Utah.
Trump, who declined to participate in the Republican primary debates, has stated on social media that he will debate Biden “anytime, anywhere, anyplace” despite the Republican National Committee’s unanimous decision to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates in 2022.
Biden reacted to Trump’s calls for earlier debates in February, telling reporters, “If I were him, I’d want him to debate me as well. “He has nothing else to do.”
While debates were traditionally limited to civil conversations about public policy problems, Trump has warped the institution during the last two presidential cycles with uncontrollable outbursts and an avalanche of lies.
Biden advisers have questioned if engaging with Trump on such a platform is tactically prudent given his conduct and loose relationship with the facts.