US news organisations urge Trump and Biden to commit to debates

Joe Biden has said it will depend on Donald Trump’s behaviour whether he will debate him this year – MORRY GASH/AP

Twelve American news organisations including bitter rivals Fox News and CNN have issued a joint call for Joe Biden and Donald Trump to agree to debate each other to preserve a “rich tradition”.

While Mr Trump did not participate in debates for the Republican nomination, he has indicated a willingness to take on his 2020 rival. However, Mr Biden has not committed to debating his opponent.

Although invitations have not been formally issued, the news organisations said it was not too early for each campaign to say publicly that it will participate in the three presidential and one vice-presidential forums set by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.

“If there is one thing Americans can agree on during this polarised time, it is that the stakes of this election are exceptionally high,” the outlets said in a joint statement.

“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, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, PBS, NBC and NPR have all signed the letter.

Mr Biden and Mr Trump debated twice in 2020. A third debate was cancelled after the then-president Trump tested positive for Covid-19.

Asked on March 8 whether he would commit to a debate with Mr Trump, Mr Biden said: “It depends on his behaviour.”

The president was visibly miffed by his opponent in the freewheeling first 2020 debate, at one point asking, “will you shut up?”

Trump campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita said in a letter this past week that “we have already indicated president Trump is willing to debate anytime, anyplace and anywhere – and the time to start these debates is now.”

They cited the seven 1858 Illinois Senate debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, saying “certainly today’s America deserves as much”.

The Republican National Committee voted in 2022 to no longer participate in forums sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

The Trump campaign has not indicated it would adhere to that, but did have some conditions.

The campaign managers said the commission selected a “demonstrably anti-Trump moderator” in then-Fox News host Chris Wallace in 2020 and wants assurances the commission debates are fair and impartial.

The Trump campaign also wants the timetable moved up, saying that many Americans will have already voted by September 16, October 1 and October 9, the dates of the three debates set by the commission.

The Biden campaign declined to comment on the letter, pointing to the president’s earlier statement. There was no immediate response from the Trump campaign.

But on Saturday, Mr Trump held a rally in northeast Pennsylvania with two lecterns set up on the stage: one for him to give a speech, the other to symbolise what he said was Biden’s refusal to debate him. The second lectern had a placard that read, “Anytime. Anywhere. Anyplace”.

Midway through his campaign speech, Mr Trump turned to his right and pointed to the second lectern.

“We have a little, look at this, it’s for him,” he said. “See the podium? I’m calling on Crooked Joe Biden to debate anytime, anywhere, anyplace. Right there. And we have to debate because our country is going in the wrong direction so badly and while it’s a little bit typically early we have to debate. We have to explain to the American people what the hell is going on.”

C-SPAN, NewsNation and Univision also joined the letter calling for debates. USA Today was the only newspaper to add its voice.

Television news ratings are down significantly compared with the 2020 campaign.

There were no Democratic debates this presidential cycle, and Mr Trump’s refusal to participate in the GOP forums depressed interest in them.

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