Biden and Trump agree to debate

[Cow Poke]

He is probably thinking Trump will be in Jail at the time and so they can cancel the debate, or it will need to be remote so they can feed Biden the answers off camera.

As to that latter part, the guy can't even read a teleprompter -- can you imagine him trying to repeat what he's hearing in an earpiece? "I just want to say [lean closer to the podium] that [stop doing that hideous whisper thing] inflation was at 973% when I took office...."

[Sparko]

As to that latter part, the guy can't even read a teleprompter -- can you imagine him trying to repeat what he's hearing in an earpiece? "I just want to say [lean closer to the podium] that [stop doing that hideous whisper thing] inflation was at 973% when I took office...."

Maybe they can make him wear a covid mask then use a voice over by an impressionist to fake his answers. Just give Biden a stick of gum so his jaw moves while they answer.

[Mountain Man]

Maybe they can make him wear a covid mask then use a voice over by an impressionist to fake his answers. Just give Biden a stick of gum so his jaw moves while they answer.

Then there's the conspiracy theory that Joe has a body double or two to stand in for him when needed. Maybe they'll put one of those guys on stage for the debate.

[rogue06]

He is probably thinking Trump will be in Jail at the time and so they can cancel the debate, or it will need to be remote so they can feed Biden the answers off camera.

Probably has already completely forgot all about it by now.

[CivilDiscourse]

Probably has already completely forgot all about it by now.

I'm fairly sure that his staff is not happy. They've worked pretty hard to keep him to friendly interviews that are recorded prior to airing and can have embarrassing moments edited out. His agreement to debate caught them off guard, but they couldn't walk it back.

[rogue06]

I'm fairly sure that his staff is not happy. They've worked pretty hard to keep him to friendly interviews that are recorded prior to airing and can have embarrassing moments edited out. His agreement to debate caught them off guard, but they couldn't walk it back.

They've got to dread the job of having to inform him that

A. Inflation was not at 9% when he took office (it was 1.4% IIRC).

2) Gas was not over $3 a gallon when he took office (it was under $2).

Those will come as quite the shock to the duffer.

[CivilDiscourse]

They've got to dread the job of having to inform him that

A. Inflation was not at 9% when he took office (it was 1.4% IIRC).

2) Gas was not over $3 a gallon when he took office (it was under $2).

Those will come as quite the shock to the duffer.

Apparently they have Jake Tapper as debate moderator. He should be unbiased. Perhaps they could get Ann Coulter to moderate the one after that.

[Sam]

I'm fairly sure that his staff is not happy. They've worked pretty hard to keep him to friendly interviews that are recorded prior to airing and can have embarrassing moments edited out. His agreement to debate caught them off guard, but they couldn't walk it back.

The two campaigns have been working on the parameters for the debates for weeks so you'll have to imagine up another scenario.

-Sam

[CivilDiscourse]

The two campaigns have been working on the parameters for the debates for weeks so you'll have to imagine up another scenario.

-Sam

Sam, you might not realize it, but these debates are a relatively turn of events. Below is what I mean when I say his agreement to debate caught them off guard.

Source: https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-biden-debate-howard-stern-interview-rcna149572

Biden shifts gears, opens the door to 2024 debates with Trump
April 26, 2024, 12:54 PM EDT

President Joe Biden appeared on Howard Stern’s radio show this morning, and as NBC News reported, the incumbent Democrat made some news about his general-election plans.

President Joe Biden said Friday during a one-on-one interview with radio host Howard Stern that he is willing to debate Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 presidential election. “I am, somewhere, I don’t know when, but I am happy to debate him,” Biden said in the interview.

The former president hasn’t yet publicly reacted to Biden’s comments, though it’s likely Trump will be pleased.

Circling back to our recent coverage, it’s difficult to overstate just how eager the presumptive GOP nominee is to participate in general-election debates against Biden. Last summer, for example, the Republican said the debates “definitely” have to happen. Soon after, the former president suggested he’d like to see 10 debates, rather than the usual three.

Last month, Trump used his social media platform to declare that he’s prepared to debate the Democratic incumbent “ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE,” regardless of who organizes the events. (The Republican National Committee’s official position is to reject debates held by the independent Commission on Presidential Debates.)

Earlier this month, the former president headlined a rally in Wisconsin and appeared alongside an empty podium on the stage. “This is for Joe Biden,” Trump said. “I am trying to get him to debate.”

For his part, the incumbent and his team have expressed far less enthusiasm. Asked recently about whether he intends to share a stage with Trump in the fall, Biden replied, “It depends on his behavior.”

Asked a month earlier about his predecessor’s fixation on the matter, the president said, “If I were him, I’d want him to debate me, too. He’s got nothing else to do.”

With this recent history in mind, Biden’s comments to Stern this morning represented a clear shift. They also increased the likelihood that at least one general-election debate will actually happen this year.

That said, the Democrat has a credible case for turning down the opportunity to share a stage with his rival. Though it’s understandable that many voters have chosen to block this from memory, four years ago, Trump’s behavior during the debates was a national embarrassment. Viewers saw an incumbent president lying, raging, heckling, erupting, and interrupting, to the point that one of own debate coaches acknowledged Trump’s on-stage failures.

It was also four years ago when Trump used a debate to send a message to a neo-fascist group: “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.”

The 2020 presidential debates were so dreadful — due entirely to Trump’s indefensible tantrums — that The New York Times reported at the time, “The unedifying spectacle of Tuesday night’s presidential debate produced some shock, some sadness and some weariness among American allies and rivals alike.” The report added that some international observers were so mortified by the display that “many wondered if the chaos and tenor of the event said something more fundamental about the state of American democracy.”

In the years that followed, Trump’s antics, hostility toward democracy, and willingness to tolerate — and by some measures, encourage — political violence has become even more overt.

If Biden ultimately agrees to participate, it’s likely there would be some public benefit, but it’s not as if the presumptive GOP nominee necessarily deserves a global platform.

© Copyright Original Source

It was just earlier that same months that the media was pressuring biden/trump to have debates:

Major news organizations urge Biden, Trump to commit to ...


CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com › Politics
Apr 14, 2024 — In a joint statement, twelve major news organizations, including CBS News, called on President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to commit to ...


Election 2024: News organizations urge Biden, Trump to ...


AP News
https://apnews.com › article › trump-biden-presidential-...
Apr 14, 2024 — Twelve news organizations have issued a joint statement calling on presumptive presidential nominees Joe Biden and Donald Trump to agree to debates during ...

Prior to that, Biden was non-committal:

Biden dismisses Trump's demand to 'immediately' ...


The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com › us-news › feb › biden-t...
Feb 6, 2024 — Ex-president has refused to participate in any of the Republican primary debates but is pushing for one with current president.

Biden Says Debates With Trump Depend on Opponent's ' ...


Bloomberg.com
https://www.bloomberg.com › news › articles › biden-sa...
Mar 8, 2024 — President Joe Biden declined to commit to debates with former President Donald Trump, saying his participation would hinge on the actions of his presumptive ...

And Democrats were not keen on the idea at all.

Democrats question whether Biden should agree to debate ...


The Hill
https://thehill.com › homenews › senate › 4392333-de...
Jan 8, 2024 — Democratic lawmakers are leery about the prospect of President Biden debating former President Trump, fearing that putting the two on stage together would ...

[Ronson]

Apparently they have Jake Tapper as debate moderator. He should be unbiased. Perhaps they could get Ann Coulter to moderate the one after that.

CNN has Chris Wallace under contract. They can always pull him in when Biden starts tanking (like FOX did the first time).

debate.jpg

[Sam]

Sam, you might not realize it, but these debates are a relatively turn of events. Below is what I mean when I say his agreement to debate caught them off guard.

Source: https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-biden-debate-howard-stern-interview-rcna149572

Biden shifts gears, opens the door to 2024 debates with Trump
April 26, 2024, 12:54 PM EDT

President Joe Biden appeared on Howard Stern’s radio show this morning, and as NBC News reported, the incumbent Democrat made some news about his general-election plans.

President Joe Biden said Friday during a one-on-one interview with radio host Howard Stern that he is willing to debate Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 presidential election. “I am, somewhere, I don’t know when, but I am happy to debate him,” Biden said in the interview.

The former president hasn’t yet publicly reacted to Biden’s comments, though it’s likely Trump will be pleased.

Circling back to our recent coverage, it’s difficult to overstate just how eager the presumptive GOP nominee is to participate in general-election debates against Biden. Last summer, for example, the Republican said the debates “definitely” have to happen. Soon after, the former president suggested he’d like to see 10 debates, rather than the usual three.

Last month, Trump used his social media platform to declare that he’s prepared to debate the Democratic incumbent “ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE,” regardless of who organizes the events. (The Republican National Committee’s official position is to reject debates held by the independent Commission on Presidential Debates.)

Earlier this month, the former president headlined a rally in Wisconsin and appeared alongside an empty podium on the stage. “This is for Joe Biden,” Trump said. “I am trying to get him to debate.”

For his part, the incumbent and his team have expressed far less enthusiasm. Asked recently about whether he intends to share a stage with Trump in the fall, Biden replied, “It depends on his behavior.”

Asked a month earlier about his predecessor’s fixation on the matter, the president said, “If I were him, I’d want him to debate me, too. He’s got nothing else to do.”

With this recent history in mind, Biden’s comments to Stern this morning represented a clear shift. They also increased the likelihood that at least one general-election debate will actually happen this year.

That said, the Democrat has a credible case for turning down the opportunity to share a stage with his rival. Though it’s understandable that many voters have chosen to block this from memory, four years ago, Trump’s behavior during the debates was a national embarrassment. Viewers saw an incumbent president lying, raging, heckling, erupting, and interrupting, to the point that one of own debate coaches acknowledged Trump’s on-stage failures.

It was also four years ago when Trump used a debate to send a message to a neo-fascist group: “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.”

The 2020 presidential debates were so dreadful — due entirely to Trump’s indefensible tantrums — that The New York Times reported at the time, “The unedifying spectacle of Tuesday night’s presidential debate produced some shock, some sadness and some weariness among American allies and rivals alike.” The report added that some international observers were so mortified by the display that “many wondered if the chaos and tenor of the event said something more fundamental about the state of American democracy.”

In the years that followed, Trump’s antics, hostility toward democracy, and willingness to tolerate — and by some measures, encourage — political violence has become even more overt.

If Biden ultimately agrees to participate, it’s likely there would be some public benefit, but it’s not as if the presumptive GOP nominee necessarily deserves a global platform.

© Copyright Original Source

It was just earlier that same months that the media was pressuring biden/trump to have debates:

Major news organizations urge Biden, Trump to commit to ...


CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com › Politics
Apr 14, 2024 — In a joint statement, twelve major news organizations, including CBS News, called on President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to commit to ...


Election 2024: News organizations urge Biden, Trump to ...


AP News
https://apnews.com › article › trump-biden-presidential-...
Apr 14, 2024 — Twelve news organizations have issued a joint statement calling on presumptive presidential nominees Joe Biden and Donald Trump to agree to debates during ...

Prior to that, Biden was non-committal:

Biden dismisses Trump's demand to 'immediately' ...


The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com › us-news › feb › biden-t...
Feb 6, 2024 — Ex-president has refused to participate in any of the Republican primary debates but is pushing for one with current president.

Biden Says Debates With Trump Depend on Opponent's ' ...


Bloomberg.com
https://www.bloomberg.com › news › articles › biden-sa...
Mar 8, 2024 — President Joe Biden declined to commit to debates with former President Donald Trump, saying his participation would hinge on the actions of his presumptive ...

And Democrats were not keen on the idea at all.

Democrats question whether Biden should agree to debate ...


The Hill
https://thehill.com › homenews › senate › 4392333-de...
Jan 8, 2024 — Democratic lawmakers are leery about the prospect of President Biden debating former President Trump, fearing that putting the two on stage together would ...

How were Biden staffers caught off guard when they have been negotiating the details of a debate with Trump campaign staffers for weeks?

The urge to peg this into some narrative about two candidates who don't know what they're doing or where they are on a given day is just making people willful dupes, the kind of folks who insist, despite being grown adults, on treating WWE personalities like they were real.

-Sam

[CivilDiscourse]

How were Biden staffers caught off guard when they have been negotiating the details of a debate with Trump campaign staffers for weeks?

The urge to peg this into some narrative about two candidates who don't know what they're doing or where they are on a given day is just making people willful dupes, the kind of folks who insist, despite being grown adults, on treating WWE personalities like they were real.

-Sam

You know sam...you seem full of assertions and light on sources.

[seanD]

That would explain the early June date. It would give them time to bring in the second string.

I haven't kept track of past debates (mainly because I rarely care about it), but I hear that the timing of this debate is unusual. It's either that, or something's coming that will cancel debates and bail Biden out.

[Sam]

You know sam...you seem full of assertions and light on sources.

Currently traveling. Still keeping up with the news, though:

Source: Why Biden Wanted to Debate Trump Early, and Why Trump Said Yes. NYT.

The startling speed of the agreement was possible, in part, because senior officials in the two campaigns had been engaged in back-channel talks about debates in advance of the Biden campaign letter, according to four people familiar with the discussions. The two campaigns had a mutual interest in circumventing the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has overseen the events since 1988.

They also both wanted Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump to face off directly, without Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or other independent or third-party candidates. Mr. Kennedy wrote on social media on Wednesday that his dominant competitors were “colluding,” adding, “They are afraid I would win.”

© Copyright Original Source

Before Biden made a public announcement, his staff had been working with Trump's to secure details of the debates. Refutes the notion that Biden's public announcement couldn't be "walked back" by staff who had, in reality, been planning the debates.

-Sam

[CivilDiscourse]

Currently traveling. Still keeping up with the news, though:

Source: Why Biden Wanted to Debate Trump Early, and Why Trump Said Yes. NYT.

The startling speed of the agreement was possible, in part, because senior officials in the two campaigns had been engaged in back-channel talks about debates in advance of the Biden campaign letter, according to four people familiar with the discussions. The two campaigns had a mutual interest in circumventing the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has overseen the events since 1988.

They also both wanted Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump to face off directly, without Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or other independent or third-party candidates. Mr. Kennedy wrote on social media on Wednesday that his dominant competitors were “colluding,” adding, “They are afraid I would win.”

© Copyright Original Source

Before Biden made a public announcement, his staff had been working with Trump's to secure details of the debates. Refutes the notion that Biden's public announcement couldn't be "walked back" by staff who had, in reality, been planning the debates.

-Sam

Unnamed sources... and no dates