Trump Should not Agree to Biden’s Absurd Debate Conditions

Republicans and Democrats seldom agree on anything today. With partisanship at an all-time high and the political environment in Washington D.C. as polarized as we’ve seen, there should be no surprise that getting Joe Biden and the Left to agree to the most basic terms to have debates ahead of the upcoming 2024 Presidential election has been a challenge as well.

The current President recently proposed having two debates in June and September, rather than the previously scheduled dates for what would have been the traditional three debates. Biden has also insisted on a number of completely unprecedented conditions for these debates.

The tradition of Presidential candidates debating is a long one in US history. From the famous Lincoln-Douglass debates of the 19th century to presidential debates that have produced well-known moments such as former President George H.W. Bush checking his watch, or Dan Quayle’s mistake of comparing himself to JFK, these exchanges have been an important and long-standing part of the political process.

This is why Biden’s absurd proposal should not be accepted by the former President, even though debates should occur.

The current President has insisted that neither candidate be able to interrupt during the debate, third party candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. should not be able to attend these exchanges, and there be no crowd.

Biden’s many cognitive failings have been well documented over the last three years, with the President recently being unable to even remember when his son died or when he served as Vice President in interviews with special counsel Robert Hur. Biden also claimed twice to have spoken to European leaders who died many years ago and also confused Mexico with Egypt during a press conference where he was defending his mental abilities. The fact that the Administration didn’t even want Biden to do an interview before the Super Bowl shows how limited his abilities currently are.

The two debates are supposed to be hosted by CNN and ABC, known left-wing propaganda networks that pushed the Russia collusion hoax and other fake and negative stories about the former President. These networks are biased and they lack integrity. Also, while the debates should obviously occur before early voting starts, there’s no reason for Trump to agree to debate Biden in June, when the current President is desperate for the news media to stop focusing on the weak economy and incompetence of his administration. Recent polling shows Trump leading in five of six battleground states, Biden is the one who needs to move the timing of these debates up, not the former President.

Trump should be willing to debate Biden if the rules are fair. An active exchange between the candidates that includes occasional interrupting is part of what debates are about, though, and if the candidates can’t even exchange ideas the forum is likely to be compromised. While not having Robert Kennedy at the debate is not important, and having an audience or a slight adjustment to the timing of the debates shouldn’t be an issue for Trump, there’s no reason for Trump to debate Biden in June, and the the fact that Biden’s proposal is that mics be cut after each candidate speaks shows the current President’s proposal is not for a real debate. It is also highly likely that CNN and ABC would let Biden know the topics if not the exact questions in advance, and the debates would obviously also likely be biased against the former President given these networks history of favoring the Democrats.

Trump should insist on their being at least one debate hosted by a fair moderator, and the former President should not agree to a format that is not even a real debate. Fox News usually hosts at least one of the normally three schedule debates, and ABC and CNN are not credible or fair news sources. Trump should also make sure there are impartial moderators for at least one of the debates, and the current President should also not accept limitations on basic speaking during what is supposed to be an opportunity for the candidates to show they are capable of leading the free world.