Biden and Trump reach consensus on their points of contention.

Biden and Trump reach a consensus on their differing viewpoints

Finally, after numerous speculations and questions about when and how the traditional pre-election face-offs would take place, the anticipated 2024 showdowns were officially announced on Wednesday morning. According to Biden's campaign, they set forth their criteria for participating in the debates.

It wasn't a foregone conclusion. Trump skipped his party's primary debates, considering them futile. Biden and his staff had long been critical of the traditional debate format and schedule.

To Biden's team, proposing their debate standards was a way to seize control of the narrative, which had suggested that Biden was unwilling or incapable of going head-to-head with Trump. Some of Trump's advisors complained after Biden's public announcement that the swift acceptance of network debates left them trailing behind – an annoyance considering Trump's repeated calls for Biden to debate.

Surprisingly, apart from Trump's desire for more than two debates and live audiences, most of the conditions in Biden's campaign's proposal were also desired by the Trump campaign – notably, moving up the schedule by three months and avoiding sharing a stage with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The swift resolution of this key question had been in the works for weeks, according to sources familiar with the matter. Both campaigns had come to the conclusion that summer debates would be advantageous for both candidates and voters. The calendar is now set for one of the earliest debates between Democratic and Republican presidential nominees in recent history. This sudden development has given new life to a campaign that had been progressing slowly through a GOP primary and Trump's legal battles.

Howard Stern's Interview: The Spark

Biden's unexpected declaration during an interview with Howard Stern that he was "happy" to debate Trump in May unofficially set the gears in motion. Both candidates' campaigns believed that debating earlier would be more beneficial.

Trump's advisers were displeased with the Commission on Presidential Debates, which had proposed debates to start in mid-September. Susan Wiles and Chris LaCivita criticized the organization after it denied their request for extra and earlier debates.

The Trump campaign desires at least four debates with a preference for more. According to two advisers, they believe having Trump and Biden face-off on stage would greatly benefit the former president, as they believe Biden has declined both physically and mentally since their last debate in 2020.

"Anything in this campaign that provides a contrast will be important for us," said a senior adviser. "And there's not a better contrast than Joe Biden having to defend a poor record standing next to successful President Trump, whose energy and enthusiasm are always present."

A Trump adviser noted that it's crucial for Trump to be able to engage with voters before they make their voting decisions. This sentiments were echoed in a letter from Biden's campaign to the commission.

"The Commission's failure, yet again, to schedule debates that will be meaningful to all voters – not just those who vote late in the fall or on Election Day – underscores the serious limitations of its outdated approach," wrote Jen O'Malley Dillon.

Frustration with the Commission on Presidential Debates

Recently, when the commission seemed unwilling to accept their demands on the debate's timeline, Trump advisers considered ways to circumvent the commission. In fact, some advisors thought they would have greater success in achieving their desired debates through a network than the commission.

Similarly, top members of Biden's team had long harboured reservations about the Commission on Presidential Debates. Advisers Anita Dunn and Ron Klain helped author a report in 2015 advocating for an overhaul of the debate system.

"The selected sites are prepared to host debates on dates chosen to accommodate early voters. We will continue to be ready to execute this plan," said the commission in a statement.

For Biden's team, early debates serve another purpose: making the contrast between Trump's potential return to the White House unavoidable for American citizens. "Our campaign has been saying for months that democracy is on the line and at stake in this election. The American people deserve to hear from the two individuals who have a chance of being elected president of the United States, representing them on the world stage and affecting their everyday lives," stated Biden's principal deputy campaign manager, Quentin Fulks, on CNN. "President Biden truly believes this. We have nothing to hide."

A Heated Summer Ahead

The summer will likely be marked by a series of high-stakes debates as both campaigns aim to highlight their differences on crucial issues.

For Biden, getting ready for the debates will clash with a chaotic travel schedule and two foreign visits: one to France for Normandy's 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings and another to Italy for the G7 summit. Meanwhile, Trump is still battling a range of legal issues, like the end of his New York hush money trial.

Klain, Biden's ex-chief of staff, is planning to step down from his position as AirBnB's top lawyer to assist Biden with debate prep. It's uncertain if Robert Bauer, Biden's personal attorney who played Trump during past debate rehearsals, will return to that role.

Trump and his team have put debates with Biden at the heart of their campaign. At rallies, Trump puts an extra podium on stage to ridicule Biden's refusal to answer Trump's invitations to debate. Recently, surrogates received scripts pushing them to say that "President Trump is prepared to debate anytime, anywhere, and anyplace" and that "Americans ought to have a complete chance to see both candidates on the same platform before they start voting."

In an attempt to change the narrative about the debates, Trump claimed on Truth Social that he would take part in a third debate on Fox News, but Biden's team rapidly dismissed this offer.

Both teams don't want to debate Kennedy, the third-party candidate who might take votes from both Biden and Trump.

In recent times, Kennedy, who was seen as a mere annoyance, has escalated into a political issue the Trump campaign wants to promptly address. Biden attempted to lessen Kennedy's appeal to Democrats by having him appear with other Kennedy family members.

"It's still too soon to determine who RFK would steal votes from," a senior Trump advisor informed CNN. "We're completely confident that it's possible he might steal votes from Trump in a general election."

Despite accepting the debate invitations from CNN and ABC soon, neither side sounded confident the debates would truly take place. This reluctance reflected both the logistical challenges and the political factors that could halt the debates from happening.

"We'll see Donald Trump on June 27th in Atlanta – if he appears," O'Malley Dillon said.

"I ponder whether or not he'll show up," Trump shared with radio broadcaster Hugh Hewitt.

Read also:

The Trump campaign, expressing dissatisfaction with the Commission on Presidential Debates, criticized the organization for denying their request for additional and earlier debates.

Biden's principal deputy campaign manager, Quentin Fulks, emphasized the importance of debates, stating that American citizens deserve to hear from the potential presidential candidates before making their voting decisions.

Source: edition.cnn.com