Part of me just wants to copy and paste the piece I wrote on this exact subject last week, which makes many of the relevant points. But now that Trump's campaign has walked away from the September debate it had assented to, and Democrats are screaming about it, it's worth reviewing some of the arguments and making some additional observations. Harris says she's committed to the previously agreed-to ABC debate, and her campaign is trolling Trump about his 'anytime, anywhere' bravado that led to his acceptance of Team Biden's two forum proposal. But Trump's gauntlet was thrown against a candidate and campaign that no longer exist. Indeed, the first general election debate -- scheduled exceptionally early, at Biden's behest -- went so disastrously for Biden that it triggered the mutiny that pushed Biden out of the race.
It is preposterous to pretend that having trounced the Democratic nominee so badly that it ended his campaign, Trump is somehow obligated to honor a commitment he made to somebody who has been replaced by his party, mid-election. Democrats, after all, aren't even honoring the results of their own nominating elections. As the Left was so fond of saying during the Trump years, this is not normal. Trump shouldn't treat it as such. I've been making this case for days:
That was his challenge to the winner of your party’s primary elections. He then accepted your party’s debate terms. The first agreed-upon debate then went so badly for your party’s nominee that it knocked him out of the race. Previous deals no longer apply. https://t.co/N1NHc5e1rB
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 26, 2024
Democrats forced out their elected nominee because the first general election debate went so badly for him. Trump is under no obligation to debate the do-over candidate at all (I think at least one would be good for the country), and certainly is within his rights to totally… pic.twitter.com/c3hCgRLGZn
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 26, 2024
I added two other notes to that thread:
…but if Trump decides to agree to a forum against Harris, he shouldn’t underestimate her. She was capable against Pence in 2020 & Pence is a better and more disciplined debater than Trump. The former president already overestimates his own debate prowess. He’s won exactly 1 of…
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 26, 2024
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whose primary job for years seems to have been appearing on television to issue Democratic talking points, has been one of the most visible characters trying to frame Trump's valid reset in debates as evidence of his "weakness" and cowardice:
Has a presidential nominee ever agreed to a debate, then pulled out?
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) July 26, 2024
Remarkable show of weakness here. https://t.co/tw9KhmhkpN
"Tough talk is this guy's calling card. And now there's this extraordinary show of weakness... he agreed to this specific debate, on this specific network, on this specific date, and now he's pulling out. It shows that he's afraid."
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) July 26, 2024
— @PeteButtigieg on Harris-Trump debate pic.twitter.com/bltqZdm2nU
Setting aside the shamelessness and stupidity of this argument, it's also an indictment of the 'news' media that such comments haven't merited any pushback along these lines:
Think about this: Trump wants to re-negotiate additional presidential debate(s) after his opponents literally changed their candidate mid-election. Those opponents are now mocking and trolling him as weak and scared. Less than two weeks ago, the man was shot in the head on national television, then reacted the way he did. It is a horrible look to take cheap rhetorical shots like this against someone who just survived an assassination attempt with courage and defiance. I don’t think that even occurs to them because they’ve completely moved on from it. Old news. And I have not seen a single objection from the media’s fraudulent “civility” police.
There is zero chance -- none -- that the press would sit silently if the Democratic nominee had been shot on stage, bravely and defiantly raising a fist after surviving the assassination attempt, and within days, the GOP was back to slamming that person as a chicken and a weakling. The umbrage would be immediate and intense. But they've all just...moved on. They don't care. I doubt Trump's near-murder, and his extraordinary response in that moment, even occurred to Buttigieg before he spouted off with this garbage. I also don't think JD Vance's decision to sign up to serve in the Marines after 9/11 and multiple deployments crossed Kamala Harris' mind before she questions Vance's loyalty to the country. They just play by different rules, secure in the knowledge that the rules enforcers are on their side. I wonder how it plays with voters. In case you missed it, I'll leave you with this:
Kamala Harris questioned my loyalty to America. I enlisted in the Marines for this country. I went to Iraq for this country. I built a business for this country. And my running mate took a bullet for this country. What the hell has Kamala done to question our loyalty to America? pic.twitter.com/WykF5pRY4Y
— JD Vance (@JDVance) July 28, 2024
