NEW YORK — Twelve news organizations on Sunday urged presumptive presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump to agree to the debates, saying they were a “rich tradition” that has been part of every general election campaign since 1976.
Although Trump, who did not participate in the debates for the Republican nomination, indicated his willingness to face his rival in 2020, the Democratic president did not commit to debating him again.
Although invitations have not been formally issued, news organizations have said it is not too early for each campaign to publicly say 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 polarized time, it is that the stakes of this election are exceptionally high,” the organizations said in a joint statement. “Amid this backdrop, there is simply no substitute for candidates debating among themselves and, before the American people, their visions for the future of our nation.”
ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, PBS, NBC, NPR and The Associated Press signed the letter.
Biden and Trump debated twice in 2020. A third debate was canceled after Trump, then president, tested positive for COVID-19 and did not want to debate remotely.
Asked on March 8 whether he would commit to a debate with Trump, Biden said, “it depends on his behavior.” The president was visibly angry with his opponent in the first free debate of 2020, at one point saying: “you can shut up”.
Trump campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita said in a letter last week that “we have already indicated that President Trump is willing to debate anytime, anywhere, and anywhere – and the time to begin these debates are now.”
They cited the seven 1858 debates in the Illinois Senate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, saying that “surely America today deserves the same.”
The Republican National Committee voted in 2022 not to participate in forums sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. The Trump campaign did not indicate it would adhere to this, but it had some conditions. Campaign managers said the commission selected a “demonstrably anti-Trump moderator” in then-Fox News host Chris Wallace in 2020 and want assurances that the commission’s debates will be fair and impartial.
The Trump campaign also wants the calendar to be brought forward, saying that many Americans will have already voted by September 16, October 1 and October 9, the dates of the three debates defined by the commission.
Biden’s campaign declined to comment on the news organizations’ letter, pointing to the president’s previous statement. There was no immediate response from the Trump campaign.
But on Saturday, Trump held a rally in northeastern Pennsylvania with two lecterns set up on stage: one for him to give a speech, the other to symbolize what he said was Biden’s refusal to debate him. The second pulpit had a sign that said: “Anytime. Anywhere. Anywhere.”
In the middle of his campaign speech, Trump turned to the 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. There. And we have to debate because our country is going very much in the wrong direction and, although it’s a little early, we have to debate. We have to explain to the American people what the hell is going on,” Trump said.
C-SPAN, NewsNation and Univision also joined the letter calling for debates. Only one newspaper, USA Today, added its voice.
Certainly broadcasters could take advantage of the energy that debates can bring. Television news viewership is down significantly compared to the 2020 campaign, although there are other factors involved, such as cord cutting and the pandemic, which increased interest in news four years ago.
There have been no Democratic debates this presidential cycle, and Trump’s refusal to participate in GOP forums has diminished interest in them.
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Associated Press writer Josh Boak in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.
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