President Biden said on Friday that he would participate in a general-election debate with former President Donald J. Trump, a striking shift after months in which he and his campaign declined to commit to appearing onstage with his Republican rival.
Mr. Biden’s announcement, made in response to a question from the radio host Howard Stern, comes after pressure from television networks and Mr. Trump’s campaign for the president to agree to participate in debates.
When Mr. Stern asked Mr. Biden if he would debate Mr. Trump, the president replied: “I am, somewhere, I don’t know when, but I am happy to debate him.”
Mr. Biden’s remarks appeared to be off the cuff, rather than a planned announcement of a shift in his campaign’s strategy, according to a top Democratic official familiar with its thinking.
This month, the five major TV news networks and The Associated Press wrote an unusual letter to the Biden and Trump campaigns urging them to debate. Some of Mr. Biden’s top aides and closest advisers have been longtime critics of the presidential debate system, which is organized by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.
In November, the debates commission announced that three presidential debates would take place in San Marcos, Texas; Petersburg, Va.; and Salt Lake City. A vice-presidential debate is to be held in Easton, Pa.
This month, the Trump campaign sent a letter asking the debates commission to move its three planned debates earlier in the fall and to add more to the schedule.
Over the last month, Mr. Trump has made goading Mr. Biden about debates a feature of his campaign rallies. Before the former president takes the stage, screens show an image of his Truth Social post claiming his willingness to debate Mr. Biden “anytime, anywhere, anyplace.”
A staff member then brings an empty lectern on the stage, with a sign bearing those three words. The lectern remains in place while Mr. Trump gives his campaign speech.
“See the podium?” Mr. Trump said at a rally this month in Schnecksville, Pa. “I’m calling on crooked Joe Biden to debate anytime, anywhere, any place.”
Mr. Trump did not participate in any of the Republican primary debates.
The Biden campaign has parried questions about whether he will agree to debate Mr. Trump this fall. On Friday, the campaign directed questions about whether its stance on debates had changed to Mr. Biden’s comments on the Stern program.
Chris LaCivita, a top campaign adviser to Mr. Trump, replied to the Biden debate news by writing on social media: “Ok let’s set it up !”
Michael Gold contributed reporting.
Source link: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/26/us/politics/biden-debate-trump.html