PHOENIX (AP) — The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which has planned presidential faceoffs in every election since 1988, has an uncertain future after President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump struck an agreement to meet on their own.
The Biden and Trump campaigns announced a deal Wednesday to meet for debates in June on CNN and September on ABC. Just a day earlier, Frank Fahrenkopf, chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates, had sounded optimistic that the candidates would eventually come around to accepting the commission’s debates.
“There’s no way you can force anyone to debate,” Fahrenkopf said in a virtual meeting of supporters of No Labels, which has continued as an advocacy group after it abandoned plans for a third-party presidential ticket. But he noted candidates have repeatedly toyed with skipping debates or finding alternatives before eventually showing up, though one was canceled in 2020 when Trump refused to appear virtually after he contracted COVID-19.
The fightback begins: Boss of London's Queen Mary University tells pro
Xi Meets Senegalese President in Johannesburg
Beijing 2022 innovates green standard for snow venues
China moves to make financing easier for small businesses
Russian theater director and playwright go on trial over a play authorities say justifies terrorism
Beijing 2022 innovates green standard for snow venues
Friendly visa policies to help boost tourism
The fightback begins: Boss of London's Queen Mary University tells pro
Xi Awarded Order of South Africa