< 2 hrs after #POTUS Biden made his move Wed to upend the nation’s presidential #debate tradition, 2 of CNN’s top political journos were on the phone w/Trump’s high command.
“We are sending you a proposal for a #debate that will be in your inbox at 10AM,” one told Trump snr leadership, Susie Wiles, Chris LaCivita & Tony Fabrizio…before rattling off the terms of a June 27 meeting in Atlanta….
By 10:14AM, #Biden’s campaign had
announced the president would attend the CNN event. The #Trump campaign agreed mins later. One of the most consequential disruptions to the sequence of American presidential campaigns since the first televised #debate in 1960 had been completed by lunchtime.
The only thing left was for the campaigns & the country to figure out what had happened.
U.S. President Joe Biden and former U.S. President and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump have agreed to debate in two televised broadcasts. These events are usually organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates, but the Biden and Trump teams directly negotiated the terms of the showdowns. The Biden campaign says the Commission “is out of step with changes in the structure of our elections and the interests of voters.” But there’s some strategic thinking involved in the move, too. Yahoo! News has more about the changes and why they’re important.
Confirmed: Former White House Chief of Staff and longtime #Biden aide Ronald Klain plans to once again help Pres. Biden prepare for his televised #debate appearances. Says he will take vacation time from his current job at Airbnb to do so. "Everyone has different ways of spending vacation -- this will be mine," he tells me.
Nate, #Trump almost murdered #Biden during a #debate last cycle by rolling up on the stage as a biological weapon. Norms and traditions went out the window long ago.
Nate Silver:
You're supposed to be the candidate who stands up for norms and traditions and now you're ducking this tradition?
"The President will not be participating in the Commission of Presidential Debates' announced debates."