U.S. President Joe Biden intends to debate former President Donald Trump ahead of the November presidential election and is ready to face his Republican opponent twice in the fight for the White House, his campaign said in a letter. Trump appears to have accepted Biden's offer to debate him twice, CBS News reported on Wednesday, UNN reported.
Details
A letter from Jen O'Malley Dillon, the chairwoman of the presidential re-election campaign, suggests that the first debate between Biden and Trump be held in late June, after the likely conclusion of the ongoing criminal trial against Trump in New York and after Biden returns from the G7 summit in Italy. Trump has been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to allegedly conceal payments to an adult film star and has pleaded not guilty. Biden's campaign has proposed holding a second debate in early September.
Trump appeared to quickly accept the Biden campaign's proposed debate schedule for June and September, writing on social media that he was "ready and willing" to debate his Democratic opponent two proposed times. But the presumptive GOP presidential nominee said he would "strongly recommend" more than two debates in a "very large venue.
"Just tell me when, I'll be there," Trump wrote.
In his own video shared to social media, the president urged his Republican opponent to take him on.
"Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020, and he hasn't shown up for a debate since. Now he's acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, my friend. I'll even do it twice. Let's pick a date, Donald, I hear you're free on Wednesdays," Biden said. The criminal trial against Trump does not meet on Wednesdays.
In addition to clarifying Mr. Biden's plans to confront Trump, O'Malley Dillon said that the US president will not participate in the debates sponsored by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which has been monitoring presidential debates since 1988.
Instead, Biden plans to take part in debates organized by news organizations, O'Malley Dillon said.
Addendum
In mid-March, Biden ran for the Democratic presidential nomination and Trump for the Republican nomination, setting up a rematch in the fight for the White House in 2020.