Biden to Trump: Debate Me, Bro
15/05/2024 17:07
One of the many questions hanging over the sluggish 2024 presidential campaign was whether or not Donald Trump and President Joe Biden will actually debate. The stakes are high (though perhaps not as high as in 2020, when Trump could have killed Biden onstage in Cleveland). And on Wednesday, the president successfully baited his Republican challenger into a debate:
Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then, he hasn't shown up for a debate.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 15, 2024
Now he's acting like he wants to debate me again.
Well, make my day, pal. pic.twitter.com/AkPmvs2q4u
"Make my day, pal," Biden said, doing his best impression of another geriatric politician. "I'll even do it twice."
This challenge may have seemed out of the blue, but the Washington Postreports that Biden and Trump staffers have had informal, back-channel conversations about setting up a debate. Critically, Biden proposed that their head-to-head not involve the Commission on Presidential Debates, the nonprofit organization that has been organizing such events since 1987. By circumventing the commission, the candidates can set the terms themselves. Biden proposed debates in June and September, much earlier than the usual October dates, supposedly so that voters could help make their choice before early voting starts. (The fact that RFK Jr. won't be part of the proceedings is likely an added incentive for both candidates.) Biden's reported offer also requires the debate to be in a TV studio where microphones would cut off after each candidate has their allotted time, so that Trump can't chirp his way through the debates like in 2016. Also, no live audience.
The plan moved forward with remarkable speed. On Wednesday morning, Biden said on X that he had accepted an invitation from CNN for a debate on June 27. "Over to you Donald," Biden wrote. Just a few minutes later, Trump accepted as well, and CNN then made it official:
NEWS: CNN puts out press release
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) May 15, 2024
Debate in Georgia, June 27, 9pm.
"CNN will host an election debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald J. Trump on June 27, 2024 at 9pm ET from the crucial battleground state of Georgia." pic.twitter.com/XEgRjkDLs2
Though Trump is famous for backing out of deals he has made online, so far he appears willing to meet these demands. "I am Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times," he wrote on Truth Social. In a radio interview on Wednesday morning, he added, "I wonder whether or not he shows up because he also challenged me to golf — he can't hit a ball 50 yards."
