Topline
President Joe Biden said definitively Friday for the first time he would debate former President Donald Trump, who for months has urged Biden to agree to a debate—leading Trump to offer to debate him “tonight.”
Key Facts
Biden told radio host Howard Stern in an interview Friday he is “happy to debate” Trump, but doesn’t know where or when a debate would take place.
The comments mark Biden’s firmest commitment to debating Trump, after saying previously he would make the determination depending on Trump’s behavior.
Trump and his campaign have repeatedly urged Biden to agree to debates, after Trump sat out the GOP primary debates, citing his strong polling lead.
Trump responded to Biden by offering to debate him “ANYWHERE, ANYTIME, ANYPLACE,” writing on Truth Social the expression is “used by Fighters.”
The former president suggested debating early next week, while adding he’d be willing to debate him Friday outside Manhattan criminal court when his trial concludes for the day.
Key Background
The Commission on Presidential Debates, a nonpartisan organization that has coordinated debates for presidential candidates since the 1980s, announced in November it will hold the first presidential debate on Sept. 16, the second on Oct. 1 and the third on Oct. 9. Earlier this month, Trump and his campaign urged the commission to push up the debate schedule, and add more to the calendar, arguing that many early voters will have cast their ballots by September.
Tangent
Trump agreed to participate in the debates following a feud with the commission over its handling of the 2020 presidential debates. Trump’s campaign has repeatedly criticized the commission’s decision to mute candidates’ mics when they weren’t speaking after Trump interrupted Biden on several occasions in earlier debates. Trump’s campaign also accused moderator Chris Wallace of bias for his attempts to prevent Trump from interrupting and took issue with the commission’s decision to hold a debate virtually during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Further Reading
Trump Campaign Urges More Debates With Biden—Starting ‘Now’ (Forbes)
Will Trump And Biden Ever Debate? Trump Says He’s Game—After GOP Boycotts Organizer (Forbes)
Trump Wants To Debate Biden—After Dodging GOP Debates (Forbes)
