There was big breaking news this morning: President Joe Biden has finally agreed to debate former President Donald Trump. I can’t believe it. I did not think Biden was going to agree to this. I am stunned.
I mean, it seemingly all happened in the blink of an eye. I think this could be the fastest booked pair of presidential debates in U.S. history. I don’t know for sure, but my gut feeling from having been 20 years in the news business is that I have never seen something like this come together so quickly.
How It Happened
Earlier today, the head of Biden’s reelection campaign sent a letter proposing debates in late June and early September. Trump swiftly responded on Truth Social that he was “ready and willing to debate Crooked Joe Biden” at the two proposed times.
Around the same time, the president posted a video on X with his own message to his presumptive challenger. “Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020, and since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate. Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again,” Biden said in the clip. “Well, make my day, pal. I’ll even do it twice. So let’s pick the dates, Donald. I hear you’re free on Wednesdays.” The latter is a reference to Trump’s New York criminal trial not convening on Wednesdays.
One of the caveats from the Biden campaign is that the debates must be hosted by a news organization that hosted a Republican primary debate in 2016 that Trump participated in and a Democratic primary debate in 2020 that Biden took part in. That narrowed it down to CBS News, ABC News, CNN, and Telemundo.
The first debate is now set for June 27 at 9pm ET on CNN, and it will reportedly take place at the network’s Atlanta studios. The second will be hosted by ABC News on September 10. So, we went from zero debates to two debates in about two minutes. I am thrilled this is happening.
The Terms
I think most people did not expect Biden to agree to these debates. For the record, he is rejecting the debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. Their proposal, as it is every election, is to hold three debates beginning in September, and the Biden campaign is saying no. Trump is too for that matter.
I will say, I am a little shocked that Trump so quickly okayed CNN. I’ve got some pals over there who might be in the running for this, but CNN in general has been absolutely disgusting to Donald Trump and I do wonder about whether there is going to be some head-scratching on the right about why he would agree to these networks in particular because there is not going to be a Trump-friendly moderator among them.
The former president is also calling for two additional debates that have not been agreed to yet. He wants them held in front of a live audience, Biden does not. The Biden campaign has also said they want his opponent’s mic turned off in between questions. I am not sure if any of that will be agreed to.
Biden is calling for these news organizations to not bring in a ringer (i.e. someone who does not actually work at the network) to ask the tough questions. I feel like he is talking about me. Just kidding. There is no way CNN or ABC would ever bring me in, but they should if they want ratings and if they want a hot debate.
You can check out Megyn’s full analysis by tuning in to episode 792 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.