President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump have both agreed to two debates, one in June and one in September, after a morning of online taunts, during which Biden urged his rival to “make my day, pal” and Trump said he was “ready to Rumble!!!”
The first debate, which will be broadcast on CNN, is slated for 9 p.m. on June 27 in Atlanta, with no audience present. The moderators will be CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, the network announced Wednesday afternoon.
The two candidates have also agreed to a second debate on ABC on September 10, according to the network. Trump’s campaign has requested additional debates in July and August, with Trump himself proposing an October debate hosted by Fox News.
The debates seemingly came together quickly on Wednesday morning, though some have speculated that some pre-planning was involved. The back-and-forth between the candidates started with a video from Biden on X, formerly Twitter, stating that he wants to debate Trump twice. He used the video to taunt the former president about his ongoing “hush-money” criminal trial, which is off on Wednesdays.
“Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020, and 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,” Biden said in the pre-recorded video. “I’ll even do it twice. So let’s pick the dates, Donald. I hear you’re free on Wednesdays.”
Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. 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. pic.twitter.com/AkPmvs2q4u
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 15, 2024
The Biden campaign immediately began selling “Free on Wednesdays” merchandise.
Trump, who declined to participate in any Republican primary debates, responded on Truth Social to Biden’s debate pitch.
“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,” Trump said with his typical bravado. “Just tell me when, I’ll be there. ‘Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!’”
A little over an hour later, Biden returned to Twitter, saying he’d accepted an invitation from CNN to debate on June 27. “Over to you, Donald. As you said: anywhere, any time, any place,” Biden wrote.
Fox News was the first to report that Trump agreed to the debate. He told a Fox reporter that he was “looking forward to being in beautiful Atlanta.” The candidates then agreed on the ABC debate.
Also on Wednesday, the Biden campaign rejected the dates proposed by the commission on presidential debates.
In addition to the June debate, the Biden camp is proposing a second debate “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,” Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon wrote in a letter. Early voting is expected to play a key role in Democrats voter turnout operation ahead of election day.
Third party presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is not part of the Biden campaign’s debate plans. He groused on Twitter that Biden and Trump “are colluding to lock America into a head-to-head match-up that 70% say they do not want.”
“They are trying to exclude me from their debate because they are afraid I would win,” he added. “Keeping viable candidates off the debate stage undermines democracy.…”
Presidents Trump and Biden are colluding to lock America into a head-to-head match-up that 70% say they do not want.
They are trying to exclude me from their debate because they are afraid I would win. Keeping viable candidates off the debate stage undermines democracy.…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 15, 2024
Without the commission’s involvement, the candidates can negotiate directly with television networks to decide the debate terms. The Biden campaign said that CBS, ABC, CNN, and Telemundo were acceptable networks for the debates.
“The commission’s failure, yet again, to schedule debates that will be meaningful to all voters — not just those who cast their ballots late in the fall or on Election Day — underscores the serious limitations of its outdated approach,” Dillon said of the commission on presidential debates.
The Biden campaign is pitching the first and only vice-presidential debate for July, after the Republican National Convention. Trump has yet to select a running mate.
Biden’s advanced age, 81, is already a major issue this campaign cycle and two nationally televised debates could allow him to potentially alleviate concerns over his mental faculties.
New polling by the New York Times and Siena College in partnership with the Philadelphia Inquirer showed Trump leading Biden in five swing states and significant voter discontent with Biden’s handling of the economy.