Biden Says He’s ‘Happy’ to Debate Trump

(Left) President Joe Biden gives a thumbs up as he leaves St. Edmond Roman Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach, Del., on Nov. 4, 2023. (Right) Former President Donald Trump looks on during a campaign rally at Trendsetter Engineering Inc. in Houston, Texas, on Nov. 2, 2023. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images; Brandon Bell/Getty Images

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.”

Both the Republican and Democrat parties appeared to rapidly choose their supposed candidates for the 2024 presidential elections, with UN Ambassador Nikki Haley being the last Republican to suspend her campaign on March 6. Since then, several media outlets have urged both frontrunners to debate each other in front of the nation.

“If there’s one thing Americans can agree on during this polarized time, it is that the stakes of this election are exceptionally high,” a joint media April 14 statement states. “Amidst that backdrop, there is simply no substitute for the candidates debating with each other, and before the American people, their visions for the future of our nation.”

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.

However, Trump campaign co-managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita asked the commission to move the debates earlier in the year, arguing that millions of Americans will have already participated in early voting before they ever get to hear both sides.

“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.”

A debate with President Biden would mark the first time President Trump takes to the debate stage this election cycle after he refused to debate his Republican primary candidates Gov. Ron DeSantis (R–Fla.) and Ms. Haley.

President Biden also refused to debate his primary challengers Rep. Dean Phillips (D–Minn.) and author Marianne Williamson.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. also issued challenges to debate both President Biden and President Trump as his campaign works to earn a third spot on the ballot in every state.

“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.

Alice Giordano, Jeff Louderback, and Savannah Hulsey Pointer contributed to this report.