"I am Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times in June and September," former President Donald Trump stated in response to a debate challenge by incumbent President Joe Biden.
Biden has challenged the former president to face him in up to two debates, while rejecting the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates' proposed fall schedule.
In a brief video, Biden claimed that Trump "lost" to him in the 2020 debates and hasn't participated in a debate since. "Now he is acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal. I'll even do it twice," Biden said, referencing Trump's ongoing trial in New York City.
Simultaneously, Biden's campaign sent a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates, announcing that he would not participate in the group's debate plan, set to begin in mid-September.
Instead, the campaign proposed late June and early September for presidential debates and late July for a vice-presidential debate. Campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon cited concerns about debates occurring after early voting begins, the potential for "noisy spectacles" with large audiences, and the commission's track record of not enforcing its own rules.
The Biden campaign's proposed parameters included hosting by a broadcast organization that held both a 2016 GOP primary debate and a 2020 primary debate, a one-on-one format without independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and strict time limits for answers, including the ability to turn off a candidate's microphone when it is not their turn to speak.
Trump, who has been pressing Biden to agree to a debate for months, announced on his Truth Social platform that he would accept the proposed dates.
However, he did not address the specific debate rules suggested by Biden's team. Trump criticized Biden as the "WORST debater" and "WORST President in the history of the United States," and called for more than two debates in large venues, despite Biden's alleged fear of crowds.
Trump added: "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. Just tell me when, I'll be there. 'Let's get ready to Rumble!!!'"
