The repeat rivals are set to participate in two debates so far: One is set to be hosted by CNN in Atlanta on June 27 while a second is scheduled for Sept. 10, which will be hosted by ABC News.
Biden had challenged the former president to debate him in a video on social platform X.
“Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate. Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal,” Biden said in the video.
“I’ll even do it twice. So let’s pick the dates, Donald. I hear you're free on Wednesdays,” Biden quipped, referring to the mid-week hiatuses in Trump's New York hush money trial.
Trump responded on his Truth Social platform that he was willing to take the president on, and dubbed Biden “the WORST debate I have ever faced.”
“I am Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times in June and September. I would strongly recommend more than two debates and, for excitement purposes, a very large venue, although Biden is supposedly afraid of crowds — That’s only because he doesn’t get them. Just tell me when, I’ll be there. “Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!” Trump wrote.
The debates to be hosted by CNN and ABC News were a blow to the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has already been planning several presidential and vice presidential debates for later this year. The commission said in a statement that “we will continue to be ready to execute this plan,” despite the two campaigns snubbing the commission.
The backdrop: While the two debates are sure to bring lots of eyeballs, it also comes as Biden is reeling from a slew of unflattering polls showing him continuing to trail Trump in key swing states.
Polling from The New York Times and Siena College earlier this month found the former president leading Biden in five swing states alone. Biden’s campaign brushed off the recent polling in a statement, though the continual bad polling for the president is raising questions around whether he can change his trajectory before November.
“The only consistency in recent public polls is inconsistency. These results need to be weighed against the 30-plus polls that show Biden up and gaining – which is exactly why drawing broad conclusions about the race based on results from one poll is a mistake. The reality is that many voters are not paying close attention to the election and have not started making up their minds — a dynamic also reflected in today’s poll. These voters will decide this election and only the Biden campaign is doing the work to win them over,” Biden pollster Geoff Garin said in a statement.
