President Joe Biden confirmed he will debate former President Donald Trump.
“I am, somewhere,” he said during an interview with Howard Stern on April 26. “I don’t know when, but I’m happy to debate him.”
The president’s statement comes after his administration continuously bucked called for a debate, citing concerns over potential fairness with the uncertainty of who would host the matchup, and his statements after his March 8 State of the Union address that a debate with President Trump “would depend upon his behavior.”
President Trump also issued several debate challenges to President Biden.
“I’m calling on Crooked Joe Biden to debate anytime, anywhere, any place,” he said at a campaign rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, on April 13. “We have to debate because our country is going in the wrong direction so badly. While it is a little bit typical early, we have to debate, we have to explain to the American people what the hell is going on.”
The two presidents previously had a heated debate in 2020 in which they exchanged verbal attacks, with President Biden at one point saying “Will you shut up, man.”
The Commission on Presidential Debates already released proposed dates for three presidential debates: Sept. 16, Oct. 1, and Oct. 9. But the exact time and place are still to be determined.
“By the date of the first proposed debate, September 16, 2024, over 1 million Americans will have likely voted,” the Trump co-managers wrote. “By the date of the second proposed debate, October 1, 2024, the number of Americans who will have likely cast a ballot will be over 3 million, an increase of 225 percent.”
President Biden also refused to debate his primary challengers Rep. Dean Phillips (D–Minn.) and author Marianne Williamson.
“Nearly all of our budget is devoted to achieving ballot access in the 50 states and [the District of Columbia] so we can end these political stunts aimed at preserving power between two and only two political parties,” the campaign said in a statement last month.
Mr. Kennedy has said he believes he should be included in the debates with Trump and Biden and plans to do so on top of achieving the goal of being on the ballot in all 50 states and Washington D.C.