In what could be considered no less than a historical feat, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have agreed to participate in two sets of presidential TV debates scheduled on the 27th of June and the 10th of September, hosted by CNN and ABC News, respectively.
Said unconventional format cuts through the vintage tradition of fall meetings organised thrice by the Commission on Presidential Debates. One end of the criticism highlights the measures to control the planning process of the debate, initially unaffected by and independent of any outside influences from political parties.
Additionally, the advanced schedule of the debates could potentially diminish their impact on voters. However, its early scheduling could also potentially spur more voters to vote while keeping high stakes for the debates’ participants to secure the trust of the American audience.
While the terms of the CNN debate remain in progress, it will take place in Atlanta with no live audience and remain open to any presidential candidate who meets the following criteria: 15% in different national polls between March 15 and June 20, adequate ballots for a majority win in the electoral college, while also accepting the rules of the debate.
The anchors for the CNN debate include Dana Bash and Jake Tapper. ABC News is also to structure its debate akin to the rules meted out by CNN, with anchors Linsey Davis and David Muir moderating the debate.
‘Third-party’ involvement and lack of audiences
While both networks suggested the participation of independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the debates, Biden’s end pushed against the suggestion, emphasising Biden’s face-to-face conversation with solely Trump, earning the incumbent President jabs from the Republican end.
Even so, with Kennedy Jr.’s current popularity, which won him two qualifying polls, his participation is highly probable should he secure more ballot access across a greater number of states by quickening the turn-in of signatures by June 20.
“We anticipate Mr. Kennedy fulfilling all participation criteria by June 20th and look forward to offering American voters the three-way debate they deserve,” exclaimed Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, campaign manager of Kennedy Jr.
Meanwhile, the Commission on Presidential Debates underscores its purpose to prevent the exact tussle between the two-man and three-man debate. Nevertheless, the channel debates were the result of informal discussions between both parties in the past few weeks, upon which it was agreed that the commission would remain uninvolved in the debates.
As campaign manager for Biden, Jennifer O’Malley Dillon clarified, “The Commission’s model of building huge spectacles with large audiences at great expense simply isn’t necessary or conducive to good debates. The debates should be conducted for the benefit of the American voters, watching on television and at home — not as entertainment for an in-person audience with raucous or disruptive partisans and donors, who consume valuable debate time with noisy spectacles of approval or jeering.”
“Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020, and since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate. Now he is acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal. I’ll even do it twice,” responded Biden back to the former President, also pushing for stricter regulations for the debate itself, such as time limits and mandatory switch of turns.
While the decision of only two debates is particularly noteworthy, especially when coming from the incumbent president who is known to uphold Washington traditions, the polls signifying his trail behind Trump could be a possible reason for the abrupt break in the convention. Nevertheless, the Commission would carry forward with its four debates, as released in a Wednesday statement.
