Washington
CNN
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President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump both accepted invitations from CNN to participate in the June 27 debate, a historically early showdown that will set the tone for the final months of the 2024 campaign.
“I received and accepted an invitation from @CNN to the debate on June 27th. Regards, Donald. Like you said, anytime, anywhere, anywhere,” Biden said. As mentioned in X’s post.
“The answer is yes, I accept it,” Trump later told CNN’s Caitlan Collins.
Late Wednesday morning, both men announced they had accepted an invitation from the ABC to hold a second debate on September 10th.
The news is the latest development in a rapidly escalating tit-for-tat over the dispute between the two political rivals. The Biden campaign earlier called on President Trump to participate in two presidential debates sponsored by news organizations and told the Commission on Presidential Debates that the president would not participate in the previously scheduled fall debates. was officially notified. The former president immediately said he would participate in previous debates, telling radio host Hugh Hewitt that he was open to any moderator.
Mr. Biden just recently said he would be happy to debate Mr. Trump, but although he did not commit to the format of the debate, he told radio host Howard Stern that he would be “happy to debate it.” Told. In a social media video and a subsequent letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates, the Biden campaign laid out the terms of the proposal, including possible debate dates in June and September.
A video released Wednesday morning of Biden speaking directly to camera was a more direct challenge.
“Donald Trump lost to me twice in debates in 2020. He hasn’t appeared in a debate since. Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. “We’re doing it,” Biden said.
“Well, good luck today, I’ll do it twice. So let’s set a date, Donald, I hear you’re free on Wednesday,” Biden continued, alluding to Trump’s court schedule. In his letter, the Biden campaign acknowledged that the first debate would likely take place after Trump’s hush money criminal trial.
In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, President Trump accepted the revised schedule and said he is “ready and willing to debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times in June and September.” “We strongly recommend it” over the two proposed forums, he said. . A senior adviser to President Trump told CNN that he is “ready to debate” Biden and is considering the terms, but is eager for an on-stage showdown.
Mr. Trump’s team also asked the candidates to participate in a total of four debates, twice as many as Mr. Biden had requested. The Biden campaign sidestepped questions about the request Wednesday.
Quentin Fawkes, Biden’s deputy campaign manager, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that “President Biden didn’t mince words in the video,” adding, “Biden did not mince words in the two debates.” He added that the elections (in June and September, before voters even started voting) were not a spectacle. , please respect the rules. ”
Private conversations between the Biden and Trump campaigns surrounding the debate have been occurring in recent weeks, largely focused on their mutual disdain for the Commission on Presidential Debates and potential scenarios for circumventing the commission. three people familiar with the discussions told CNN. The Washington Post first reported these conversations.
The debate will be held behind closed doors at the network’s Atlanta studio, which is unusual for a debate between presidential candidates, according to a CNN news release. The first televised presidential debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960 took place in a television studio without a live audience. The debates were not held again until the 1976 election, and from then on they were held in front of a live audience who were instructed not to make any noise except at the beginning and end of the debate.
The moderator for the debate and additional details will be announced at a later date, the announcement said.
The format is in line with proposals the Biden campaign submitted to the committee in a letter, and Trump said in a Truth Social post that “Biden is probably afraid, but we need a very big deal to get him excited.” “The venue is preferable,” he said, and objected to this. of the crowd. ”
“Just tell me when you’re going to be there, and I’ll be there,” Trump said. “Let’s get ready for battle!!!”
The Commission on Presidential Debates announced the schedule for three presidential debates last November. The first debate was scheduled for September 16th in Texas, the second on October 1st in Virginia, and the third on October 9th in Utah.
In a letter Wednesday, Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said the campaign proposed changing the date because the original date was “not consistent with changes in the election structure and changing voter interests.” He pointed out that: the early voting schedule, the way the commission has structured the debate as an “entertainment spectacle,” and the commission’s “inability or unwillingness” to enforce the rules for the 2020 debate. is.
Patrick Semanski/AP/File
In this 2020 photo, then-President Donald Trump (left) faces then-Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden (right) during the second and final presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville. ) is pointing.
The campaign also proposed holding a vice presidential debate in late July after Republicans name their running mate.
The Biden campaign’s decision to withdraw from the committee-sponsored debates is in line with a move made by the Republican National Committee two years ago. At the time, the RNC voted unanimously to withdraw from the bipartisan organization, alleging bias. The reversal came after then-Chairman Ronna McDaniel pressed the commission on behalf of President Trump for months to change various practices.
The commission said in a statement Wednesday that it remains ready to host the debate as originally scheduled.
“All 2024 sites in higher education are prepared to host debates on dates selected to accommodate early voters,” the committee said in a statement. “We remain prepared to execute on this plan.”
The push to move the debate date forward can be seen as an indication of the camp’s desire to involve voters in the political process as quickly as possible. The campaign has repeatedly sidestepped negative polling by arguing that most Americans don’t care about the electoral process until very close to the election.
Calling for an early debate could also help eliminate third-party candidates who could pose problems for both Trump and Biden. Candidates must meet certain criteria regarding ballot access, voting, and constitutional eligibility. Trump and Biden are almost certain to qualify, but it’s unclear whether third-party candidates like Cornel West or Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will meet the requirements. The Commission on Presidential Debates will not decide who is eligible to participate in the debate until after Labor Day.
For millions of Americans, this debate will be the most extensive scrutiny of either candidate since the lead-up to the 2020 election four years ago.
For voters concerned about the ages of Biden and Trump, the opportunity to see how both candidates perform will be crucial. Trump will turn 78 on June 14, around the time his campaign is proposing to hold the first debate, while Biden will turn 82 in November, after the election.
Republicans have been pressuring Biden for months to debate Trump after the president gave vague answers about whether a face-to-face showdown would take place. Biden had previously conditioned his debate with his predecessor, telling reporters, “It depends on what he does,” but declined to elaborate further.
A person familiar with the debate told CNN last month that the Trump campaign wants to get the former president on the debate stage as soon as possible for a variety of reasons. In April, the Trump campaign asked the Commission on Presidential Debates to hold this year’s general election debate “sooner.” The official said the debate will be scheduled after early voting begins in some areas, so Trump can appeal to voters before making a decision.
This headline and article have been updated with additional reporting.
CNN’s Alayna Treene, Daniel Strauss and MJ Lee contributed to this report.
