At a Wisconsin rally last month, Donald Trump bragged that he would debate President Joe Biden "anytime, anyplace."
"We'll do it anyway you want, Joe," he said.
Biden unexpectedly called his bluff Wednesday with a pugnacious flair that left Trump no choice but to accept.
"Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020," Biden said. "Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal. I'll even do it twice."
Trump quickly accepted, he had no choice.
The Biden campaign bypassed the bipartisan presidential debate commission and proposed two debates, one in June and the other in September, without an audience and to be moderated by CNN and ABC News. Just two guys in a studio, making their case—a return to the original debates in 1960 between Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard Nixon.
Regardless of whether third-party spoiler Robert F. Kennedy Jr. meets the criteria to qualify, the Biden campaign has stipulated the debate must be one-on-one between Biden and Trump. The campaign also rejected Trump’s proposed third debate, which would have been moderated by Fox News.
But let's stick with what we currently know: There will be one early debate on June 27 and another on Sept. 10, both with no audience.
Debates are always fraught for candidates, but these terms are a master stroke by the Biden campaign. Many voters still aren't tuned into the contest because they don't like their choices and are putting off the reality of contending with that decision. We also know that Biden is doing better with voters who are more informed and paying attention. So the Biden campaign needs to jolt the electorate awake, and this unprecedented early debate is one of their best avenues to do it.
As Biden pollster Jefrey Pollock said of low information voters, "You have to force your way into their lives ... We have to force them to pay attention to politics."
The sooner voters acknowledge the choice they will have to make in November, the better it is for Biden. While Trump's extended stay in a Manhattan courtroom isn't necessarily good optics for a presidential candidate, it has had the benefit of shielding the public from the spectacle of Trump's repellant demeanor and his plans to dismantle American democracy as we know it.
Also, by having a debate in June, Biden will have a chance to till the political landscape before the party conventions in July and August. The September debate, which is also on the early side for a final debate, leaves cushion for the event to fade from voters' memory in case Biden has an off night—which is not uncommon for incumbent presidents. The Biden campaign doesn't want voters heading to the polls thinking about Biden; it wants voters focusing on the peril of a second Trump term and the threat of having him as a "president for life."
If Biden can reinforce that terrifying prospect during the September debate, it could haunt Trump all the way to the polls.
Another win for Team Biden is depriving Trump of an audience. Trump is a performer with a sixth sense for what an audience wants, and giving it to them animates him. A straight-up studio debate prevents Trump from getting any extra juice from playing off the live, reactive audience. He’ll only have his hand gestures, a glass of water, and his grievances to work with.
Despite some criticisms about Biden forgoing debate tradition, his campaign got what it wanted, and that's really all that matters. It’s understandable that he would want to bypass the presidential debate commission after it failed to enforce its own COVID-19 prevention rules in 2020, putting Biden’s life in jeopardy.
Nothing guarantees that Biden will have a good showing at either debate, but it's a risk they have to take. Refusing to debate Trump would have reinforced the Republican narrative that he's afraid of his opponent and not up to the job. So the Biden campaign has maximized the upsides, minimized the downsides, and deprived Trump of his precious audience.
Regardless of what criticisms are thrown Biden's way, the format of these debates will give him the opportunity to shape major issues of the election. And frankly, the more voters see of Trump, the better.
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