Don’t Let Trump and Biden Abandon the Debates
There is value to having the presidential candidates face off, even if it’s painful to watch.
Will this happen again this year?
Photographer: Morry Gash/Getty Images
One of the few bipartisan traditions left in American politics is hating on the presidential debates. They’re never substantive enough, the moderators always intervene too much or too little, and they have little effect on voters. Who needs ‘em?
So reports that President Joe Biden and Donald Trump are contemplating skipping this year’s edition, put on by the Commission on Presidential Debates every four years since 1988, are hardly surprising. Trump didn’t participate in any Republican primary debates either, and the Republican National Committee withdrew from the debate commission two years ago. Biden has declined to commit to its 2024 schedule.