
Trump rattled Biden in their first debate, screen image, September 29, 2020.
President Trump has been pressuring Joe Biden to debate for months, with Biden not committing. At recent rallies, Trump has set an empty debate podium for Biden on stage.
I love the podium Trump brings with him every time he does a rally for Biden to debate him on. đđđ pic.twitter.com/eiWLjjkIV1
â The Conservative Patriot (@TheConserv55806) April 14, 2024
Joe Biden gave an interview to not-so-shocking-anymore-jock Howard Stern on SiriusXM Friday morningâor as Fox host Dagen McDowell put it, âthat was Fart Man interviewing old man.â
Fart Man interviewing Old man đ pic.twitter.com/sYyzeu2pVB
â Karli Bonneâ đșđž (@KarluskaP) April 26, 2024
Stern: âI donât know if youâre gonna to debate your, uh, your opponent.â
Biden: âI am somewhere, I donât know when. Iâm happy to debate him.â
Senior Trump campaign advisor and chief operating officer of the Republican National Committee Chris LaCivita posted a reply to Biden on X Twitter, âOk letâs set it up!â
Ok letâs set it up ! https://t.co/wPMBiGi0IU
â Chris LaCivita (@LaCivitaC) April 26, 2024
Trump responded in Trump style on Truth Social Friday afternoon, âCrooked Joe Biden just announced that heâs willing to debate! Everyone knows he doesnât really mean it, but in case he does, I say, ANYWHERE, ANYTIME, ANYPLACE, an old expression used by Fighters. I suggest Monday Evening, Tuesday Evening, or Wednesday Evening at my Rally in Michigan, a State that he is in the process of destroying with his E.V. Mandate. In the alternative, heâs in New York City today, although probably doesnât know it, and so am I, stuck in one of the many Court cases that he instigated as ELECTION INTERFERENCE AGAINST A POLITICAL OPPONENT â A CONTINUING WITCH HUNT! Itâs the only way he thinks he can win. In fact, letâs do the Debate at the Courthouse tonight â on National Television, Iâll wait around!â
The Commission on Presidential Debates, the bipartisan body that has overseen presidential debates since 1988, announced the schedule for the 2024 debates last November.
First presidential debate:
Monday, September 16, 2024
Texas State University, San Marcos, TXVice presidential debate:
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Lafayette College, Easton, PASecond presidential debate:
Tuesday, October 1, 2024
Virginia State University, Petersburg, VAThird presidential debate:
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Trump is pushing for more and earlier debates as âearly votingâ starts in some states before the first debate. The Trump campaign sent a letter to the debate commission on April 11:
Dear Members of the Commission:
We write today in agreement with the pending letter from television networks advocating for presidential debates to occur in 2024.
While the Commission on Presidential Debates has already announced three presidential debates and a vice-presidential debate to occur later this year, we are in favor of these debates beginning much earlier.
Hereâs why:
1) Voting is beginning earlier and earlier, and as we saw in 2020, tens of millions of Americans had already voted by the time of the first debate. Specific to the Commissionâs proposed 2024 calendar, it simply comes too late. Below are the estimates for how many Americans will have already voted by the date of each scheduled debate:
a. By the date of the first proposed debate, September 16, 2024, over 1 million Americans will have likely voted.
b. By the date of the second proposed debate, October 1, 2024, the number of Americans who will have likely cast a ballot will be over 3 million, an increase of 225%.
c. By the date of the third proposed debate, October 9, 2024, or 35 days out from election day, approximately 8.7 million Americans will have already voted.2) Americans were robbed of a true and robust debate in 2020. There were only two debates, and they happened much too late in the election calendar despite voting timelines having moved up exponentially.
In 2020, the Commission ceded to the wishes of the Biden campaign on every front, refusing to move up the dates of the debates, failing to reschedule the debate canceled by COVID-19, cutting off President Trumpâs microphone over and over in the middle of a debate, and in the
case of the first debate, selecting a demonstrably anti-Trump moderator clearly positioned to aid Joe Biden. Fairness in such a setting is paramount and the Commission must ensure that the 2024 Commission-sponsored debates are truly fair and conducted impartially.The Commission must move up the timetable of its proposed 2024 debates to ensure more Americans have a full chance to see the candidates before they start voting, and we would argue for adding more debates in addition to those on the currently proposed schedule. We have
already indicated President Trump is willing to debate anytime, anyplace, and anywhere â and the time to start these debates is now.Former President Abraham Lincoln and former U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas held seven debates in their storied 1858 U.S. Senate battle in Illinois. Certainly todayâs America deserves as much.
Sincerely,
Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita
Donald J. Trump for President Co-Campaign Managers