Biden Commits to Presidential Debates Against Trump as Republicans Call for Early Showdown

Joe Biden has given his strongest indication yet that he will participate in presidential debates against Donald Trump before Election Day, with Biden stating during an interview with Howard Stern that he would be “happy to” debate the incumbent president. This comes after weeks of Republicans calling for early debates between the two candidates, citing their belief that both parties’ nominees owe it to American voters to face off on stage before they start voting. Trump himself has also expressed a desire for earlier debates and called on Biden to commit to specific dates and formats in recent days. However, Biden’s team is reportedly not rushing into making any firm decisions about the format or timing of potential debates but instead viewing them as just one part of their overall strategy to get its message out via multiple means like paid media and campaigning events alongside organising activities for their presidential campaign. Brett O’Donnell, a Republican debate coach with experience in preparing candidates such as Mitt Romney and Ron DeSantis for debates, stated that while the value of having these debates extends beyond whether voters tune into see them live due to an increasing number choosing other methods like social media or TV highlights packages instead, there is also some risk involved. Mari Will, another Republican debate coach with a long history in preparing candidates such as George W Bush and Mitt Romney for presidential debates, expressed similar sentiments but added that most people have already made up their minds before the election due to being “pretty much persuaded”. Debates traditionally attract wide-scale viewership when incumbents are running against challengers. The first televised debate between two major party candidates was in 1960, and since then, nominees from both opposing parties have debated during the general election campaigns before Election Day almost without fail except for a gap that lasted until 1976.