President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have both confirmed their participation in the upcoming general election debates scheduled for June 27 and Sept. 10.
According to a press release from CNN, the initial debate on June 27 will commence at 9 p.m. ET and will take place at CNN’s studios in Atlanta.
“To ensure candidates may maximize the time allotted in the debate, no audience will be present. Moderators for the debate and additional details will be announced at a later date,” CNN said.
The accord was reached shortly after Biden issued a challenge to Trump for two debates set in a television studio prior to the November election, breaking away from the conventional format.
In swift response, Trump expressed his disagreement with Biden’s preference for debates without an audience but agreed to the suggested dates, expressing his own enthusiasm for debating.
Subsequently, Biden announced during an interview with X that he had embraced an invitation from CNN to partake in the June 27 debate.
“Over to you, Donald. As you said: anywhere, any time, any place,” Biden said.
Soon after, a Trump staffer confirmed their acceptance of the CNN debate in Atlanta, noting the absence of a live audience for the initial debate.
Later that morning, both Biden and Trump announced their agreement to participate in a second debate scheduled for September 10, hosted by ABC News.
“I’ve also received and accepted an invitation to a debate hosted by ABC on Tuesday, September 10th,” Biden said on X. “Trump says he’ll arrange his own transportation. I’ll bring my plane, too. I plan on keeping it for another four years.”
“It is my great honor to accept the CNN Debate against Crooked Joe Biden, the WORST PRESIDENT in the History of the United States and a true Threat to Democracy, on June 27th,” Trump said on Truth Social. “Likewise, I accept the ABC News Debate against Crooked Joe on September 10th. Thank you, DJT!”
CNN’s debate criteria offer a slight possibility for additional candidates to join the stage, though it poses a challenge. Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has surpassed CNN’s 15% national polling threshold in two qualifying polls, needing just two more to meet the polling criteria.
However, CNN also stipulated that candidates must be on a sufficient number of state ballots to reach the 270 electoral vote threshold before the eligibility deadline, which is June 20th. Yet, several state deadlines for independent ballot access extend beyond this date.
For instance, Kennedy’s campaign in Ohio has secured the necessary signatures to appear on the ballot, but they plan to delay submission until closer to the state’s deadline on August 7th.
Kennedy expressed his belief, in a post on X Wednesday morning, that both Biden and Trump are attempting to prevent his participation in the debates out of fear of his potential success.
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On another front, Biden’s campaign chair, Jen O’Malley Dillon, conveyed in a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) that Biden would not engage in any debates organized by the CPD, opting solely for those hosted directly by news outlets.
“We believe the first debate should be in late June, after Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial is likely to be over and after President Biden returns from meeting with world leaders at the G7 Summit,” O’Malley Dillon wrote.
She suggested that the hosting duties should fall to any broadcasting organization that hosted a GOP primary debate featuring Trump in 2016 and a Democratic primary debate with Biden in 2020.
“A second presidential debate should be held in early September at the start of the fall campaign season, early enough to influence early voting, but not so late as to require the candidates to leave the campaign trail in the critical late September and October period,” the letter said.
Trump responded on Truth Social on Wednesday morning saying that he agrees to the proposed times: “I am Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times in June and September. I would strongly recommend more than two debates and, for excitement purposes, a very large venue, although Biden is supposedly afraid of crowds — That’s only because he doesn’t get them. Just tell me when, I’ll be there.”
“Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!” Trump added.
O’Malley Dillon outlined proposed guidelines for the debates, emphasizing strict time limits for answers and alternating speaking turns to ensure a balanced exchange of views without interruptions. She suggested that a candidate’s microphone should only be active during their allotted speaking time.
In addition, she suggested scheduling the vice presidential debate for late July, following the Republican National Convention.
She expressed opposition to the Commission on Presidential Debates’ (CPD) schedule, noting that it starts after early voting has begun and extends past when millions of Americans have already voted. She criticized the CPD’s debates as overly theatrical spectacles and advocated for a simpler format with just the two candidates and moderators in a TV studio, citing the CPD’s failure to enforce its own rules in 2020.
Biden supplemented the letter with a playful video challenge to Trump, suggesting a debate and joking about Trump’s availability on Wednesdays, referencing his absence due to a New York criminal trial not being in session that day.
“Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020,” he said. “Since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate. Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal. I’ll even do it twice. So let’s pick the dates, Donald. I hear you’re free on Wednesdays.”
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