The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), which claims to be a nonpartisan organization, has announced its schedule for next year’s presidential debates between President Joe Biden and his Republican challenger.
However, President Joe Biden hasn’t committed to attending, and the Republican National Committee might boycott any debates sponsored by CPD.
Sponsors have warned this could be the end to the 48-year tradition of presidential election debates.
The RNC threatening not to participate comes after years of tension between the conservatives and the commission. In fact, the RNC is mulling rules changes that would force presidential candidates seeking the party’s nomination to sign a pledge saying they won’t participate in any debates sponsored by the CPD.
In a letter to the commission last year, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel voiced frustration with its response to several party complaints, including concerns about its selection of moderators, a desire for a debate before early voting starts and a push for changes to the commission’s board.
The commission responded to that letter by saying in a statement that it deals directly with candidates who qualify for participation in its debates, rather than the national leadership of each party.
“The CPD’s plans for 2024 will be based on fairness, neutrality, and a firm commitment to help the American public learn about the candidates and the issues,” it said at the time.
Former President Donald Trump has refused to debate his low-polling challengers in the GOP’s presidential primary.
However, an RNC boycott of the general election debates would shake up the foundations of the way presidential elections have been conducted for the last few decades.
Trump, for his part, has made clear he wants to debate Biden if he’s the nominee.
“We have to debate,” he told Fox News host Bret Baier in a June interview. “He and I have to definitely debate. That’s what I love. The two of us have to debate.”
Trump has shown no signs of being afraid to cross the RNC. He’s refused to sign the RNC’s “loyalty pledge,” a promise to support the Republican nominee.
National Democrats, meanwhile, have expressed frustration with the commission in 2020 over what they called its failing to enforce the rules when it came to Trump, as he and Joe Biden were then competing for the presidency.
In 2020, debate moderate Chris Wallace faced bipartisan fury for the unruly debates. Republicans described Wallace as biased in favor of Biden, and Democrats chided him for allowing Trump to interrupt.
As Biden now seeks a second term, his reelection campaign has not said whether he would debate Trump.
With both parties criticizing the debates, CPD is worried about an end to its relevance.
“The United States’ general election debates, watched live worldwide, are a model for many other countries: the opportunity to hear and see leading candidates address serious issues in a fair and neutral setting,” CPD co-chairs Frank Fahrenkopf and Antonia Hernández said in a statement. “This tradition remains unbroken since 1976. In 2024, students at our four debate sites will help bring another set of historic conversations to audiences here and abroad. And their campuses will anchor four unique chances to listen and learn.”
CPD announced Monday that presidential candidates will first be scheduled to meet Sept. 16 at Texas State University in San Marcos, south of Austin. The vice presidential debate is scheduled nine days later at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.
Presidential debates planned for Virginia State University in Petersburg on Oct. 1, and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Oct. 9, round out the schedule, less than a month before Election Day on Nov. 5.
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.