In a dramatic departure from his previous unwillingness to commit, President Joe Biden stated on Friday that he is willing to debate former President Donald Trump, the presumed Republican nominee, prior to the November election.
When asked if he would take on Trump in a debate, Biden responded, “I am, somewhere, I don’t know when but I am happy to debate him,” in an interview with radio talk show host Howard Stern.
Previously, the Biden team had not stated if Biden will participate in any debates. Trump has been taunting Biden over his refusal to commit to a debate “anytime, anyplace” and claiming he will debate him for weeks.
In September and October, the commission has set up three debates for the president and one for the vice president. At Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, on September 16, there will be the first presidential debate.
Given that more than a million Americans would have probably cast early ballots before the first debate, the Trump team demanded earlier this month that the Commission on Presidential Debates add more debates and expedite its autumn schedule.
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The campaign sent a letter to the bipartisan commission on April 11 saying, “The time to start these debates is now.”
Trump’s insistence on having early debates has been dismissed by the Biden team as an attempt by the former president to play political games. “I would want to debate myself if I were him. In February, Biden told reporters, “He has nothing else to do.
After seeing no real threat to his chances of winning the Republican nomination, Trump declined to debate his rivals in the GOP primary.
The Republican National Committee informed the Commission on Presidential Debates in 2022 that unless modifications were made to the process of choosing moderators and scheduling debates prior to the start of early voting in any state, its nominee for 2024 would not take part.
In the 2020 election, Trump had accused Biden’s commission of bias without providing any supporting proof.
In a joint statement released on April 14, twelve news outlets, urged the presumed party nominees, Biden and Trump, to formally commit to participating in general debates prior to the election.
