One of the biggest questions on the minds of many Americans ahead of the presidential election later this year is whether President Biden will choose to debate Donald Trump. Amid various public incidents that have drawn questions about Biden’s mental and physical fitness, there is growing skepticism that the president would be capable of participating in a head-to-head showdown against Trump.
The topic recently came up during a CNN segment, where Biden campaign co-chair Chris Coons explained that he “wouldn’t encourage” the incumbent president to debate Trump. Former President Donald Trump has made it abundantly clear that he wishes to debate Biden in front of the nation. “Former President Trump is saying that he wants to debate Joe Biden anytime, anywhere, any place. Is that a good idea?” the host asked Coons.
The campaign co-chair stated that if Trump wanted to see Biden speaking live, he should watch the president’s State of the Union speech. “If Donald Trump wants to see Joe Biden in primetime, he should tune in and watch tonight,” he said
Coons suggested that Biden shouldn’t entertain the idea of debating Trump because of his alleged violations of “decency” and “decorum.” He further elaborated that, instead of a debate between the two candidates, Americans should assess Biden’s qualifications based on the job he has done as president throughout his term.
“I was in the room for the debate in Cleveland, that Chris Wallace tried to moderate and it was chaotic at best, Donald Trump just busted through every possible rule or regulation of decency or decorum or following any of the directives of the moderator. I wouldn’t encourage it but I don’t think the campaign or the President has made a decision yet. I just think that frankly, the American people need to make up their own minds based on what difference Joe Biden has made in their lives,” he continued.
Social media users were quick to criticize Chris Coons’ comments, suggesting the campaign is covering for Biden’s inability to handle a live debate. “Biden’s team is painfully aware that Joe can’t handle a debate. He. Can’t. Do. It,” James Hutton said.
Others pointed out that Coons’ suggestion to look at the supposed improvement in their lives under the Biden administration does not bode well for his reelection chances. Here’s the difference @JoeBiden has made in my life: he’s caused my living expenses to increase, and he’s thrown my tax dollars away on an unwinnable proxy war in Ukraine,” another person commented.
Former President Trump released a message illustrating his desire to face Biden in a debate. Trump claimed that it is so “vital” for America to see him and President Biden challenge each other’s rhetoric that he would be willing to participate in a debate even if it was run by “corrupt” Democrats.
“It is important, for the Good of our Country, that Joe Biden and I Debate Issues that are so vital to America, and the American People,” Trump said. “Therefore, I am calling for Debates, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE! The Debates can be run by the Corrupt DNC, or their Subsidiary, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). I look forward to receiving a response. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
See the segment from CNN below.
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.
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