Honestly?
This IS Biden FINALLY getting into Donald Trump….
Bout time…..
Good day for Biden & Co.
“Tens of millions of dollars of advertising has not changed President Biden’s polling deficit. Donald Trump’s criminal trial has not altered the race’s trajectory. And Mr. Biden’s significant cash and infrastructure advantages have yet to pay political dividends,” the New York Times reports.
“So on Wednesday, the one weekday Mr. Trump is not confined to a courtroom, the Biden campaign shook up the race, publicly offering to bring forward the first presidential debate by three months. The move was meant to jolt Americans to attention sooner than later about their consequential choice in 2024. Mr. Biden’s advisers have long believed that the dawning realization of a Trump-Biden rematch will be a balm for the president’s droopy approval ratings.”
Washington Post: “A face-to-face meeting could also remind Americans of Trump’s volatility and would give Biden the chance to describe the election as a choice between the two men, rather than a referendum on his record.”
New York Times: “Since 1987, presidential debates have been simulcast on every major channel in the country. But President Biden’s shock announcement that he would skip this fall’s preplanned matchups in favor of debates sponsored by individual news outlets sent network executives into a scramble.”
“Such debates typically take months to plan. Instead, in three hours, CNN and ABC News outmaneuvered their rivals to land a pair of prime-time face-offs between Mr. Biden and former President Donald Trump that promise enormous ratings and prestige.”
“I myself would never recommend going on stage with Donald Trump, but the president has decided that’s what he wants to do.”
— Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), in an interview with CNN.
Dan Pfeiffer: “Most Americans have paid little to no attention to politics since 2020. They aren’t following the day-to-day of the election or Trump’s trials. Most haven’t thought much about Trump since January 6th, 2021. Polls show that voters have a weird amnesia-fueled nostalgia for Trump’s presidency…”
“Biden needs to remind voters of the chaotically erratic behavior that defined Trump’s presidency and caused a critical segment of the electorate to vote against him in 2020. The best way to do that is to show, not tell—and what better way than watching a couple of hours of Trump on live television? In 2020, more than 70 million people watched the debates. The number probably won’t be that high since the first one is in June and the American public isn’t locked in their homes due to a pandemic, but it should still be a massive audience of people watching Trump have a meltdown…”
“The timing also makes sense for Biden. Reminding the public about the dangers of sending Trump back to the White House needs to happen sooner than the traditional October timeline. A high-profile debate will do more to advance that cause than hundreds of speeches, rallies, and ads.”
Amy Walter: “Biden can’t make the election a referendum on Trump unless Trump is in the spotlight early and often.“
Boston Globe: “Maybe pencil in the dates, but don’t write it down with a permanent marker.”
“Coming up with dates, times and a television partner is the easy part. Agreeing to everything else, including who will moderate, could be very thorny especially when it is two campaigns in direct negotiations. Before the commission would just tell the candidates how the debates would be run and who would moderate.”
“These agreed-upon debates could go haywire for any number of reasons.”
“Among those skeptical these debates will happen? The Biden campaign. Jen O’Malley Dillon, the Biden-Harris campaign chair, issued a statement in the afternoon noting that Trump has pulled out of debates for all kinds of reasons the last three years.”
For members: There’s Still a Good Chance Debates Never Happen