It’s Official: Trump-Biden Debates Are Officially On
Just one hour after President Joe Biden declared he would be willing to debate his rival “anywhere, any time, any place,” he saw his offer matched with vigor.
Despite couching his offer with a refusal to participate in a non-sanctioned debate, Biden still agreed to face former President Donald Trump on stage before November. That’s good news, Trump replied Wednesday, because Biden “can’t put two sentences together.”
“Crooked Joe Biden is the worst debater I have ever faced—he can’t put two sentences together,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “Crooked is also the worst president in the history of the United States, by far.” He added, “It is time for a debate to take place—even if it has to be held through the offices of the Commission on Presidential Debates, which are totally controlled by Democrats and who, as people remember, got caught cheating with me with debate sound levels.”
The first debate will take place on June 27th after both candidates accepted an offer from CNN to host the face-to-face, according to the Post Millennial. Two sources with Biden’s campaign told CNN the debate will occur in-studio without a live audience. Trump agreed, telling reporter Brooke Singman, “I’ll be there.”
EXCLUSIVE: @realDonaldTrump says he will accept the CNN debate invitation for June 27.
Trump tells me “I’ll be there” and says he’s “looking forward to being in beautiful Atlanta.” https://t.co/OOCLwaWsxq— Brooke Singman (@BrookeSingman) May 15, 2024
Biden calls out Donald Trump and accepts Trump’s challenge to debate.
This is the guy who read “pause” a few days ago off his teleprompter.
— Dinesh D’Souza (@DineshDSouza) May 15, 2024
An additional condition sought by the Biden campaign is to allow moderators to mute the microphone of a participant if they run over their time or cause an interruption. Empowering the moderators to silence candidates would almost certainly be opposed by President Trump who has found success, and drawn viewers, by talking over opponents including Biden and Hillary Clinton.
However, the Biden-Harris ticket released a letter outlining their conditions for debates, including that they are not overseen by the Commission on Presidential Debates. President Trump has previously chastised the organization for selecting debate moderators he felt were biased against him, but it is Biden who is now breaking precedent and refusing the traditional format. President Biden’s offer includes two debates, one in June and a second in September, eschewing the traditional three-debate model.
“I’m ready to go,” Trump said. “The dates that they proposed are fine. Anywhere. Anytime. Any place. Let’s see if Joe can make it to the stand-up podium. The proposed June and early September dates are fully acceptable to me. I will provide my own transportation.”
The first debate is set to coincide with the likely end of Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial and will take place shortly after President Biden returns from an overseas junket to the G7 Summit. The second debate in September would occur shortly before the start of early voting in most states. The Biden-Harris campaign also proposed a vice-presidential debate for July after both parties had officially nominated their ticket partners.
“Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate. Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal,” Biden said in a video message shared earlier Wednesday morning. “I’ll even do it twice. So let’s pick the dates, Donald. I hear you’re free on Wednesdays.”
Trump echoed his statements to Fox News with a lengthy post on Truth Social Wednesday morning.
“It’s time for a debate so that he can explain to the American People his highly destructive Open Border Policy, new and ridiculous EV Mandates, the allowance of Crushing Inflation, High Taxes, and his really WEAK Foreign Policy, which is allowing the World to ‘Catch on Fire.’ I am Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times in June and September,” Trump posted. “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.
