More Than A Dozen Major Media Outlets Call On Biden, Trump To Commit To Presidential Debate
More than a dozen major media outlets released a statement this morning asking President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to commit to a presidential debate.
“If there’s one thing Americans can agree on during this polarized time, it is that the stakes of this election are exceptionally high,” the joint April 14 statement states.
“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 Associated Press, CBS News, CNN, Fox, News Nation, USA Today, ABC, NBC, PBS, NPR, and C-SPAN are among the media outlets that released the statement.
The call comes at the heels of baited comments former President Trump made at a campaign rally on April 13 in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, toward President Biden about debating him.
“I’m calling on Crooked Joe Biden to debate anytime, anywhere, any place,” he said, conjuring up a swell of cheers from supporters. “We have to debate because our country is going in the wrong direction so badly. While it is a little bit typical early, we have to debate, we have to explain to the American people what the hell is going on.”
President Trump made similar comments at his April 2 campaign speech in Green Bay, Wisconsin. “You can see we have an empty podium right here to my right. You know what that is? That’s for Joe Biden,” President Trump said.
At both appearances, to drive his point home, President Trump pointed to a mic standing holding a Trump-branded sign that read, “Anytime. Anywhere. Anyplace.”
He also stated at a Georgia campaign event that “it was for the good of our nation” for President Biden to agree to a debate.
The Biden administration, on other hand, have bucked calls for a presidential debate, citing concerns it would not be a “fair” bout given the uncertainty of who will host a matchup between the current president and former president in their bid for The White House.
The day after his March 8 State Of The Union address last month, Biden brushed off questions by reporters about President Trump’s continued challenge to a debate by saying “it would depend on his behavior.”
In 2020, the two engaged in two very heated debates.
They were peppered with personal and political assaults, with the former vice president saying to President Trump at one point, “Will you shut up, man.”
While Republicans have razzed President Biden for not debating the former president, Democrats leaders have cautioned President Biden not to climb on stage for a political spar with the MAGA leader.
“I would think twice about it,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) reportedly told The Hill last month.
Mr. Durbin clarified that his advice was based on not giving President Trump an opportunity to spread his “extremism” rather than concern that President Biden wouldn’t be able to stand up to President Trump in a match.
At the same time, Democrats leaders are running damage control for President Biden by pointing out that President Trump refused to debate any of his GOP rivals for the party nomination in the primaries—just as he did in 2016 before going on to eventually win the presidency.
