Media Giants Push for Trump-Biden Debate

TL/DR –

Major television networks and news organizations have asked US presidential candidates to publicly commit to televised debates ahead of the general election. The letter was signed by ABC News, CBS News, CNN, NBCUniversal News Group and FOX News Media, among others, and comes amid uncertainty from both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump about participating in the debates. While Trump has urged Biden to participate, the Biden campaign has expressed concern about the organization of these debates by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

Major News Networks Request Presidential Candidates to Commit to Televised Debates

ABC News, alongside CBS News, CNN, NBCUniversal News Group, and FOX News Media, have joined forces with key print, wire, and radio organizations to write an open letter. They have requested presidential candidates to commit to participating in televised debates preceding the general election.

The letter, published on Sunday, calls on the presumed presidential nominees to publicly agree to participate in the debates before November’s elections. This request surfaces during an election cycle that has seen uncertainty around debates from both President Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump.

Trump, who evaded the Republican National Committee-sanctioned 2024 primary election debates and withdrew from one of his three debates with Biden in 2020, has urged Biden to partake in the three general debates planned for this fall. His campaign echoed this sentiment on Sunday.

While the Biden campaign has expressed concerns about the debates’ organization by the Commission on Presidential Debates, Trump’s team is actively pushing for more and earlier general election debates. They argue that voting is starting ‘earlier and earlier’.

Despite the Democratic National Committee throwing its support behind Biden, there have been no primary election debates this cycle. The Commission on Presidential Debates is planning to hold the first debate on Sep. 16 at Texas State University, with subsequent debates scheduled for Oct. 1 and Oct. 9, and a vice presidential debate on Sept. 25.

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