The two main candidates in the US presidential election, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, have agreed to debate twice, on June 27 and September 10.
The first duel between the Democratic president and his Republican predecessor will take place without an audience in Atlanta, Georgia (in the southeast of the United States), announced in a press release on Wednesday, May 15, the CNN channel, which will organize the event. The ABC channel will host the second debate.
Earlier in the day, Joe Biden challenged his rival to debate twice before the November 5 presidential election, in June and then in September, and the latter immediately accepted. “Today he says he wants to debate me again. In that case, humor me, dude. I will even do it twice,” said the 81-year-old Democrat, candidate for a second term, in a video posted on X.
“I am ready and decided to debate against “Joe the Crook” on the two proposed dates in June and September,” reacted the 77-year-old former president on his Truth Social network, using one of his nicknames preferred for his opponent. “Tell me when, I’ll be there.” Let’s go for the fight!!! », Added Donald Trump, believing that his opponent was the “worst debater” he had ever met.
The American president’s campaign team had reported that he wanted to debate for the first time after the G7 summit in Italy, which will take place from June 13 to 15, then “at the beginning of September”. Joe Biden then said on X that he “received and accepted” an invitation from CNN for a duel on June 27. “The ball is in your court, Donald,” he added.
“I strongly suggest doing more than two debates,” the Republican said on Truth Social. Unlike the Democratic camp, which wants a confrontation without an audience, Donald Trump judged that the debate, “to make it more exciting”, should be held in “a very large room, even if it seems that Biden is afraid of crowds “.
“I heard you were free on Wednesday.”
The presidential debates are always highlights of an American campaign, and they will be particularly so this year, as the hostility is so strong between these two men.
These duels will also be a test of the vivacity and intellectual endurance of the candidates, the oldest to have ever run for the White House. Republicans continue to attack Joe Biden for his moments of confusion and his gaffes, while Democrats denounce Donald Trump’s sometimes totally incoherent outings.
In his video message, Joe Biden is frankly mocking: “Let’s pick the dates Donald. I heard you were free on Wednesday,” the US president referring to the only weekly day off in the trial against his predecessor. Donald Trump, multiple criminal defendants, is required to appear in New York for the rest of the week in connection with a case of hidden payments to former porn star Stormy Daniels.
Joe Biden’s campaign team sent a letter to the commission which usually organizes electoral debates, to explain that its candidate would not comply with either the timetable or the conditions established by this body. “For several reasons, the model in force for years is no longer in line with the structure of our elections nor with the interests of voters,” we read in this letter. The commission had already set three dates: September 16, October 1 and October 9.
The Biden camp argues that the first debate must take place earlier, to take into account Americans voting early, and the second “in early September”, so as not to weigh on the final sprint of the campaign until November. Democrats are also demanding that the debate be held without an audience, in a television studio with only the two main candidates and presenters.
“The debate must be held for the benefit of Americans watching it on television, not as entertainment in front of an audience of agitated or disruptive supporters and donors,” wrote the chair of Joe Biden’s campaign, Jen O’Malley Dillon, in this letter. She also criticizes the commission for having been “incapable” of enforcing the rules on speaking time and interactions in 2020. “There must be a strict time limit for responses, and an alternation in speaking” to avoid untimely interruptions, the Biden camp still demands.
