Biden to Trump: Debate Me, Bro

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One of the major questions hanging over the sluggish 2024 presidential campaign was whether or not Donald Trump and President Joe Biden will actually debate. On Wednesday, that question was suddenly put to rest when the president successfully baited his Republican challenger into two debates, one on June 27 and one on September 10.

It all started — in public, at least — with a video message from Joe Biden playing tough:

“Make my day, pal,” Biden said, doing his best impression of another geriatric politician. “I’ll even do it twice.”

Biden’s loose proposal moved forward with remarkable speed. On Wednesday morning, Biden said on X that he had accepted an invitation from CNN for a debate on June 27. “Over to you Donald,” Biden wrote. Just a few minutes later, Trump accepted as well, and CNN then made it official, announcing a debate in Georgia at 9 p.m. on June 27. Later Wednesday morning, Biden and Trump accepted an offer from ABC News for a second debate on September 10.

The president’s debate challenge may have seemed out of the blue, but the Washington Post reports that Biden and Trump staffers have had informal, back-channel conversations about setting up a debate. Critically, Biden proposed that their head-to-head not involve the Commission on Presidential Debates, the nonprofit that has been organizing such events since 1987. By circumventing the commission, the candidates can set the terms themselves. Biden proposed debates in June and September, much earlier than the usual October dates, supposedly so that voters could make their choice before early voting starts. (The fact that RFK Jr. is now unlikely to be part of the proceedings surely played a role in both candidates’ thinking.) Biden’s reported offer also requires the debate to be in a TV studio where microphones would cut off after each candidate has their allotted time, so that Trump can’t chirp his way through the debates like in 2016. Also, no live audience.

Though Trump is famous for backing out of deals he has made online, so far, he appears eager to meet these demands. “I am Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times,” he wrote on Truth Social. In a radio interview on Wednesday morning, he added, “I wonder whether or not he shows up because he also challenged me to golf — he can’t hit a ball 50 yards.”