Several major news organizations, including CBS News, ABC News, The Associated Press, CNN, C-SPAN, FOX News Media, NBCUniversal News Group, NewsNation, Noticias Univision (Univision Network News), NPR, PBS NewsHour, and USA TODAY, have come together to issue a collective plea to President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. The joint statement, released on Sunday, calls for both politicians to commit to participating in debates during the upcoming 2024 campaign season.
While it may be too early to send out formal invitations for debates, the news organizations emphasized the importance of candidates publicly declaring their intention to engage in debates, provided they meet the eligibility criteria. The statement stressed the crucial role that debates play in allowing candidates to present their visions for the future of the nation directly to the American people.
According to the joint statement, "If there is one thing Americans can agree on during this polarized time, it is that the stakes of this election are exceptionally high. Amidst that backdrop, there is simply no substitute for the candidates debating with each other, and before the American people, their visions for the future of our nation."
The Republican National Committee voted unanimously in 2022 to ban future GOP presidential nominees from participating in debates put on by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, the body that has sponsored general election debates since 1988.
Trump campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita addressed the Commission on Presidential Debates in a letter on Thursday, saying that Trump was willing to debate. They did not address the 2022 GOP vote, but they did call on the commission to be fair and impartial.
"Fairness in such a setting is paramount and the Commission must ensure that the 2024 Commission-sponsored debates are truly fair and conducted impartially," they wrote. "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."
Trump, who avoided debating his GOP rivals in primary debates, previously faced some criticism for failing to show up to those debates and face questions on stage alongside other Republican candidates. But in a December interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump suggested he'd be up for 10 debates with Mr. Biden. He also discussed debating with President Biden in a Thursday post to Truth Social.
"Biden can't speak," Trump said. "Biden can't debate, Biden can't put two sentences together."
During a rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, Trump issued a challenge to Biden by setting up two podiums on stage, speaking from one and leaving the other empty with a placard that read, "Anytime. Anywhere. Anyplace." Pointing to the vacant podium, Trump called on Biden to debate him at any time and any place, emphasizing the need for a debate due to the country's current direction.
In response to Trump's challenge, President Biden, when asked on March 8 about committing to a debate, stated that it "depends on his behavior." This comes after Biden's previous comments in early February in Las Vegas, where he remarked, "If I were him, I'd want to debate me too. He's got nothing else to do."
