Staff Reports
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden’s political account on a social media website shared a short video of him challenging former President Donald Trump to two debates. Trump had been calling for Biden to debate for a while. In the video, Biden claimed that Trump had lost two debates to him in 2020 and challenged him to debate again. The video is now at the top of Biden’s account.
The statement is believed to be a reference to New York courts being off on Wednesdays, which may indicate the politicized nature of the cases against Trump. During a briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre didn’t address Speaker Mike Johnson showing up to a New York case against Trump, admitting it’s related to the 2024 elections.
Pres. Biden and the presumptive Republican nominee, former Pres. Trump, are set to face off in a presidential debate hosted by @ABC News on Sept. 10.
Biden and Trump also agreed to a CNN debate on June 27. https://t.co/Kto7UEIjFD pic.twitter.com/UaQcnKLPgm
— ABC News (@ABC) May 15, 2024
Additionally, Biden’s campaign reposted the video along with a link to buy “FREE ON WEDNESDAY” shirts, seemingly glorifying the criminal cases as a form of election interference.
The Biden campaign sent a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates, proposing debates in June and September, to which Trump agreed. Trump also took to a social media platform to attack Biden’s policies and cognitive abilities. However, Trump expressed doubts that Biden would show up for the debates.
The Trump campaign had concerns about the September and October debate schedule, particularly given that early voting will have already started. Trump also mentioned accepting the debate challenge in an interview, expressing doubt that Biden would show up.
