Trump may have refused to debate any Republican challengers before they dropped out of the race, but he’s eager to debate President Joe Biden.
During a Fox News Town Hall last month, Trump told Laura Ingraham that he would be obligated to debate Biden. This Thursday, Trump again brought up debating the president.
“It is important, for the Good of our Country, that Joe Biden and I Debate Issues that are so vital to America, and the American People,” he said in a Truth Social post. “Therefore, I am calling for Debates, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE! The Debates can be run by the Corrupt DNC, or their Subsidiary, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). I look forward to receiving a response. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Trump’s long challenger, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, suspended her campaign after Trump dominated the Super Tuesday primaries. Leading up to Super Tuesday, he refused to agree to an RNC requirement to back any GOP candidate and skipped all debates. Both Trump and Haley also bailed on January debates, leading ABC and CNN to cancel the events.
In 2020, when Trump was president, his debates with Biden were described as “chaotic.”
“The first debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden deteriorated into bitter taunts and near chaos Tuesday night as Trump repeatedly interrupted his opponent with angry – and personal – jabs that sometimes overshadowed the sharply different visions each man has for a nation facing historic crises,” said an Associated Press report.
“This was maybe the worst presidential debate in American history,” said NPR. “If this was supposed to be a boxing match, it instead turned into President Trump jumping on the ropes, refusing to come down, the referee trying to coax him off, and Joe Biden standing in the middle of the ring with his gloves on and a confused look on his face.”
CNN reported that a second debate was canceled when Trump declined to do a virtual debate when he was diagnosed with COVID-19. Vaccines for the virus had not yet been released. CNN said the final 2020 debate was “looked much more like a normal debate” than the first one.
According to Ballotpedia, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), sponsors, organizes, and establishes guidelines for general election presidential and vice presidential debates. It is expected to hold three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate this year ahead of the November election.
These debates aren’t scheduled until after the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention are held this summer. Here are the expected presidential debate dates and locations:
Sept. 16 at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas
Oct. 1 at Virginia State University in Petersburg, Va.
Oct. 9 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah
While Trump and Biden won’t be the official candidates until after the conventions, it seems clear that they are headed for a rematch of 2020, since Biden’s challenger Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota also dropped out of the race this week.
“We have a general election campaign effectively now, between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. They are, you know, set for this rematch – one that a lot of people don’t want,” that’s what Jodi Schneider, political news director for Bloomberg TV and Radio, told Audacy Wednesday.
Trump has indicated that he wants to debate Biden as soon as possible. A reporter mentioned last month that Trump wanted to debate the president “immediately” Biden said: “Well, I – if I were him, I’d want to debate me too. He’s got nothing else to do.”