Shortly after Democrats pulled their unprecedented summer switch -- abandoning their incumbent and nominee mid-cycle (it's absolutely clear that if the polling were looking better for Biden, they would have stuck with him, even after that debate performance) -- Donald Trump started floating new ideas about a previously agreed-upon presidential debate scheduled for September. Trump suggested a change of venue, from ABC News to Fox News. People immediately started calling into question whether the event would happen at all:
Donald Trump may be laying the groundwork for scrambling plans for another presidential debate, suggesting that Fox News, and not ABC News, should be the host. ABC News had been slated to host the debate between Trump and President Joe Biden on Sept. 10. But now that Biden has dropped out of the race, it is unclear whether those plans will happen. Biden has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, but if she wins the nomination, it will be her campaign operation to decide. Trump, meanwhile, posted on Truth Social, “My debate with Crooked Joe Biden, the Worst President in the history of the United States, was slated to be broadcast on Fake News ABC, the home of George Slopadopolus, sometime in September. Now that Joe has, not surprisingly, has quit the race, I think the Debate, with whomever the Radical Left Democrats choose, should be held on FoxNews, rather than very biased ABC. Thank you! DJT”
Some critics are already trying to frame this as Trump being "afraid" to debate Harris. Nonsense:
There is a strong case for Trump to skip this debate. His opponent set the terms for the agreed-upon debates, then the first debate was so disastrous that it ended his opponent’s campaign. The Democrats don’t get to assume cooperation with their unprecedented do-over plot. https://t.co/nhA8cTluXI
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 21, 2024
A negotiation for debates is a delicate one between 2 camps that requires agreement on subject, venue, moderators, style of questioning, down to number of seconds per answer. A change of CANDIDATE reopens negotiations bc the first debate as agreed to no longer exists. https://t.co/E9OoqT7HGm
— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) July 21, 2024
Trump's 'anytime, anywhere' bravado surrendered leverage and allowed Biden's campaign to take the initiative and dictate the key terms of their two planned debates, including the historically-early June date. Trump clearly believed he could beat Biden in such a setting this time. He was right. It went so badly that it effectively ended Biden's campaign, after weeks of recriminations. It is preposterous to suggest Trump is somehow duty bound to participate in a second debate against a brand new candidate, someone other than the person knocked out of the race. It would be more than fair for him to refuse to participate further this cycle. The Democrats don't get to exploit a tailspin triggered by a highly unusual pre-convention general election debate to swap out their failing nominee...then act like the opposing candidate must continue to abide by all of his previous rules and commitments. They really do act like the rules don't apply to them at all.
At the very least, Trump should demand a total overhaul of negotiations. They're now running a different candidate, after all. I also think he'd be well within his rights to simply call it a day and refuse to debate Harris, period. Democrats got their demanded debate arrangements, then subsequently blew up the election, for their own perceived political interests. If Trump's brain trust sees it as within their interests to scuttle any future debates this cycle, they absolutely should. I'll add that Trump and his supporters overestimate his prowess as a debater. He had some quick comeback lines that helped accentuate Biden's televised dismantlement, but that was largely a self-destruction. It was Trump's most successful non-primary debate of his political career. He may be very well served to go out on top and not risk another forum because it will be hard to win that decisively again, no matter who the opponent might be.
If Democrats feel like Harris needs a game-changer or some episode to again scramble the race, they'll pressure Trump to debate. They'll appeal to his ego and suggest he's too scared to do it, hoping to goad him into giving them the opportunity they desire. Resist. It's important for Trump and his team to only do something that benefits him. Democrats play by such self-interest rules all the time. Sure, I believe both major parties should agree to debates, for the benefit of the American electorate. They did agree in 2024, one debate took place, and one of the parties used it as the reason to change horses mid-race. Trump has met his civic obligation. If there is only one general election debate in 2024, that will be a consequence of Democrats' choices.
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