News Orgs Urge Biden, Trump Debates    04/15 06:12

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Twelve news organizations on Sunday urged presumptive 
presidential nominees Joe Biden and Donald Trump to agree to debates, saying 
they were a "rich tradition" that have been part of every general election 
campaign since 1976.

   While Trump, who did not participate in debates for the Republican 
nomination, has indicated a willingness to take on his 2020 rival, the 
Democratic president has not committed to debating him again.

   Although invitations have not been formally issued, the news organizations 
said it was not too early for each campaign to say publicly that it will 
participate in the three presidential and one vice presidential forums set by 
the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.

   "If there is one thing Americans can agree on during this polarized time, it 
is that the stakes of this election are exceptionally high," the organizations 
said in a joint statement. "Amidst that backdrop, there is simply no substitute 
for the candidates debating with each other, and before the American people, 
their visions for the future of our nation."

   ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, PBS, NBC, NPR and The Associated Press all signed on to 
the letter.

   Biden and Trump debated twice in 2020. A third debate was canceled after 
Trump, then president, tested positive for COVID-19 and would not debate 
remotely.

   Asked on March 8 whether he would commit to a debate with Trump, Biden said, 
"it depends on his behavior." The president was visibly miffed by his opponent 
in the freewheeling first 2020 debate, at one point saying, "will you shut up?"

   Trump campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita said in a letter this 
past week that "we have already indicated President Trump is willing to debate 
anytime, any place and anywhere -- and the time to start these debates is now."

   They cited the seven 1858 Illinois Senate debates between Abraham Lincoln 
and Stephen Douglas, saying "certainly today's America deserves as much."

   The Republican National Committee voted in 2022 to no longer participate in 
forums sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. The Trump campaign 
has not indicated it would adhere to that, but did have some conditions. The 
campaign managers said the commission selected a "demonstrably anti-Trump 
moderator" in then-Fox News host Chris Wallace in 2020 and wants assurances the 
commission debates are fair and impartial.

   The Trump campaign also wants the timetable moved up, saying that many 
Americans will have already voted by Sept. 16, Oct. 1 and Oct. 9, the dates of 
the three debates set by the commission.

   The Biden campaign declined comment on the news organizations' letter, 
pointing to the president's earlier statement. There was no immediate response 
from the Trump campaign.

   But on Saturday, Trump held a rally in northeast Pennsylvania with two 
lecterns set up on the stage: one for him to give a speech, the other to 
symbolize what he said was Biden's refusal to debate him. The second lectern 
had a placard that read, "Anytime. Anywhere. Anyplace."

   Midway through his campaign speech, Trump turned to his right and pointed to 
the second lectern.

   "We have a little, look at this, it's for him," he said. "See the podium? 
I'm calling on Crooked Joe Biden to debate anytime, anywhere, any place. Right 
there. And we have to debate because our country is going in the wrong 
direction so badly and while it's a little bit typically early we have to 
debate. We have to explain to the American people what the hell is going on," 
Trump said.

   C-SPAN, NewsNation and Univision also joined the letter calling for debates. 
Only one newspaper, USA Today, added its voice. The Washington Post declined a 
request to join.

   Certainly the broadcasters could use the juice that debates may bring. 
Television news ratings are down significantly compared with the 2020 campaign, 
although there are other factors involved, such as cord-cutting and the 
pandemic, that increased interest in news four years ago.

   There were no Democratic debates this presidential cycle, and Trump's 
refusal to participate in the GOP forums depressed interest in them.