In a recent development, former President Donald Trump’s campaign managers, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, have publicly criticized the Commission on Presidential Debates. The Commission has confirmed to Fox News that it will adhere to its original debate schedule, despite the Trump campaign’s requests to advance the dates and increase the number of debates.
The Trump campaign managers have extended an open invitation to all American television networks interested in hosting a debate. They have also urged President Joe Biden’s campaign to collaborate with them in organizing a debate “as soon as possible.”
For several weeks, Republicans have been advocating for early debates between Trump and Biden. “The Presidential Debate Commission’s schedule does not commence until after millions of Americans have already cast their votes. This is unacceptable, and by refusing to reschedule the debates, they are doing a grave disservice to the American public who deserve to hear from both candidates before voting begins,” LaCivita and Wiles stated.
They further added, “President Trump has expressed his willingness to debate Joe Biden anytime, anywhere, anyplace, and Joe Biden himself just agreed to debate. We are committed to making this happen with or without the Presidential Debate Commission.”
The Commission on Presidential Debates, in response to CNN’s query, reiterated its commitment to the original schedule. “The CPD’s criteria […] will be applied in early September; afterward, the Commission will extend debate invitations to qualifying candidates,” the Commission stated.
The Republican National Committee has been encouraging surrogates to push for Biden to debate Trump in televised interviews. Trump and his team have repeatedly emphasized the former president’s readiness to debate Biden anytime, anywhere. The underlying message of these calls is to highlight the contrast between Trump’s energy and Biden’s perceived lack thereof.
However, Biden recently expressed his willingness to debate Trump in an interview with Howard Stern, though he had previously stated that it would depend on the former president’s behavior.
Trump’s history with debates has been inconsistent. While he was eager to debate his rivals in 2016, he skipped every debate during the 2024 Republican primary, yet still secured the party nomination. Two years ago, the RNC decisively voted to withdraw from debates hosted by the Committee on Presidential Debates after then-chair Ronna McDaniel lobbied the committee to make changes to the debates in response to complaints by Trump.
This story has been updated with additional information. CNN’s Daniel Strauss contributed to this report.