In an interesting turn of events Wednesday, President Biden and former President Donald Trump agreed to a no-audience presidential debate. Scheduled for Thursday, June 27, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, the battle of the presidents will take place at CNN’s spanking new compound in Atlanta, GA.
CNN extended the invitation for this debate amid a series of detailed requests from the Biden camp. It particularly put forward the demand for a presidential debate in June and September, with the Vice-Presidential debate set to take place in July, along with the stipulation that only ABC, CBS, CNN, or Telemundo can moderate these debates.
Following the acceptance of this invitation, CNN released a formal statement acknowledging the imminent debate, “Presidents Biden and Trump will face off in our Atlanta studios, on June 27, 2024 at 9pm ET, coming from the key battleground state of Georgia. To ensure the candidates can make the most of their time, no audience will be present.” The network also teased the identity of the debate’s moderators, promising more details in the near future.
The buzz in the town is, who will moderate this much-anticipated debate? Will it be Fake News Jim, Jake Tapper, Anderson Cooper, Erin Burnett, Abby Phillip, or Chris Wallace?
While constitutional qualifications, ballot appearances, and polling benchmarks for candidates were briefly mentioned, what seems to be really interesting about this informal agreement between the two campaigns is its impact on the Presidential Commission on Debates and potential third-party candidates. Particularly, it might sideline candidates like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is currently polling pretty high in the independent bid.
CNN’s Acosta broadcast the announcement during CNN Newsroom while aligning with a CNN Public Relations Tweet, “Former President Donald Trump has accepted CNN’s invitation for a debate with President Biden. This sets up a June showdown.” Saenz, CNN’s resident Biden supporter, also chimed in with her predictions for the debate. She pointed out Biden’s wish list for the debate, including a rule stating that “microphones can only be on when each candidate is expected to speak.”
A conversation between Acosta and Jeff Zeleny, the chief national affairs correspondent, revolved around intriguing details about this debate and its comparison with the historic 1960 presidential debate on TV between future Presidents John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.
Immediately following this debate announcement, a Trump campaign memo was publicized by campaign co-managers LaCivita and Wiles. They argued for more debates to give American people a larger platform to hear from the candidates. As a visible step in this direction, they not only agreed with the Biden campaign’s proposed schedule but also asked for two more debates in July and August, arguing that “the American people deserve more than what the Biden administration has to offer.”
In conclusion, this face-off between Biden and Trump is off to an intense start. As both parties gear up to put their best foot forward, the American public awaits a charged dialogue in June.
