Appearing on Stern radio show, Biden says he’ll debate Trump
President Biden said Friday that he would participate in a general-election debate with former president Donald Trump, a striking shift after months in which he and his campaign declined to commit to appearing onstage with his Republican rival.
Biden’s announcement, made in response to a question from radio host Howard Stern, comes after pressure from television networks and Trump’s campaign for the president to agree to participate in debates.
When Stern asked Biden if he would debate Trump, the president replied, “I am, somewhere, I don’t know when, but I am happy to debate him.”
Biden’s remarks appeared to be off the cuff, rather than a planned announcement of a shift in his campaign’s strategy, according to a top Democratic official familiar with its thinking. The Biden campaign directed questions Friday about whether its stance on debates had changed to Biden’s comments on the Stern program.
Trump, who was spending Friday in court in New York City during his criminal trial, responded hours later, writing on his social media site: “Crooked Joe Biden just announced that he’s willing to debate! Everyone knows he doesn’t really mean it, but in case he does, I say, ANYWHERE, ANYTIME, ANYPLACE, an old expression used by Fighters.”
Trump went on to propose debating as early as next week, or even “at the Courthouse tonight — on National Television, I’ll wait around!”
Biden and Trump debated twice in 2020, with Trump pulling out of a third debate because he refused to participate virtually after testing positive for the coronavirus. Ill will remains on the Biden side out of a widespread belief that Trump knowingly exposed Biden to the virus during the first debate, which the former president has denied.
This month, the five major TV news networks and the Associated Press wrote an unusual letter to the Biden and Trump campaigns urging them to debate. Some of Biden’s top aides and closest advisers have been longtime critics of the presidential debate system, which is organized by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.
In November, the commission announced that three presidential debates would take place in San Marcos, Texas; Petersburg, Va.; and Salt Lake City. A vice presidential debate is to be held in Easton, Pa.