Time for debates

Now that both major party presidential candidates have been nominated, I suggest Joe Biden should state he will debate Donald Trump only when Mr. Trump releases his tax returns ( after promising and then refusing to do so for years). If Mr. Trump does not, continuing as the least transparent candidate in modern times, Mr. Biden should start asking repeatedly, “What does Trump have to hide?” He can then speculate what that must be, such as he’s not really wealthy at all, there might be lots of connections with Russian oligarchs, ties to organized crime, etc.

Mr. Trump will deny it, as he does with all criticism, and Mr. Biden can just say, “Well, prove it, then. Releasing your returns, like I and every other presidential candidate have over the past 40 years, would help you do that, if what I am saying is false. Persistent refusal to level with the American people shows any or all of what I just said may be true.”

Yet, if TV “debates” are agreed to, I hope Mr. Biden follows Ronald Reagan’s lead and asks the American people, “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” That question sank Jimmy Carter’s re- election chances, and it will totally sink Mr. Trump’s. In 2016, it was “I alone can fix it.” Four years later in 2020, Mr. Trump has not been able to fix anything, as we now have the equivalent of the 1918 flu epidemic, the 1929 Great Depression and the 1968 race riots all at the same time. And nothing says he will do any better in the next four years.

KEN PERKINS

Squirrel Hill