Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) is committing to face President Donald Trump in three presidential debates ahead of the November general election.
In a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates obtained by The Washington Post, Biden’s campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said, “Joe Biden looks forward to facing Donald Trump in a multi-debate series that the American people have come to expect from their leaders.”
She added, “We hope that President Trump would not break that tradition or make excuses for a refusal to participate.”
The three debates are scheduled for September 29, October 15, and October 22.
Just days earlier, Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale wrote, “We want fair debates. We want them sooner, and we want a bigger schedule.”
He added, “We also don’t want them up against football games competing for viewers. As many Americans as possible need to see the stark differences between the accomplishments and leadership of President Trump and the failed record and sleepiness of Joe Biden.”
However, Biden’s campaign dismissed the Trump campaign’s requests for the debates as a “distraction.”
“The Trump position seems to be saying that he will debate if he can pick the moderators: clearly the President, who largely conducts interviews only with favorable news outlets, is afraid of facing questions from a neutral moderator. The Trump campaign proposal for elaborate negotiations is merely an effort to dodge fair, even-handed debates.”
However, O’Malley Dillon asked that proper health measures are taken to address coronavirus concerns. She added, “We do not want to provide President Trump with any excuses for not debating.”
“During his primary campaign, Vice President Biden welcomed direct questions from uncommitted voters on a frequent basis, and we think it is time that President Trump faced such questioning himself,” she said, adding, “We know that voters have many, many questions for the President.”