Twelve major national news organizations pen the story letter Sunday asked the hypothetical presidential candidates Joe Biden And Donald Trump agreed to participate in televised general election debates before voters go to the polls in November.
Organizations including ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX and PBS wrote: “If there’s one thing Americans can agree on in these polarized times, it’s that the stakes of this election are especially High”.
“Against this backdrop, there is simply no substitute for candidates debating with each other and before the American people their vision for our country’s future,” the letter continued. .
Noting that debates “have a rich tradition” in American democracy and “have played an important role in every presidential election” over the past half-century, the signers called for candidates to members “publicly declared their support for — and their intention to participate in” the debates scheduled by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which currently has three scheduled in the months leading up to the debate. vote.
The unusual demand comes as both candidates avoided debates in their respective primaries. Trump has publicly dismissed each debate hosted by the Republican National Committee, citing his double-digit lead, while Biden’s campaign has quietly rebuffed calls from opponents to enter the debate stage.
Even as Trump loudly refused to share the stage with any Republicans, he spent months trying to coax the president into a public debate. During a campaign rally earlier this month, he taunted Biden with an empty podium on stage. “This is for Joe Biden. I’m trying to convince him to debate,” Mr. Trump said. “Trying to get Joe Crooked to debate. Anytime Anywhere.” On Thursday, Trump campaign officials Susie Wiles And Chris LaCivita sent a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates asking for more than the usual three contests.
The incumbent Democratic president appeared more equivocal about standing on the same stage with Trump. When asked by a reporter in March whether he would commit to a debate, Biden replied that it “depends on [Trump’s] behavior.”
Trump and Biden debated twice in their 2020 debate (the planned third debate was canceled after then-President Trump contracted COVID-19). The current presumptive GOP nominee’s behavior during the first debate was so disruptive that the Commission on Presidential Debates introduced a mute button.
