PHOENIX (AP) — The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which has planned presidential faceoffs in every election since 1988, has an uncertain future after President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump struck an agreement to meet on their own.
The Biden and Trump campaigns announced a deal Wednesday to meet for debates in June on CNN and September on ABC. Just a day earlier, Frank Fahrenkopf, chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates, had sounded optimistic that the candidates would eventually come around to accepting the commission’s debates.
“There’s no way you can force anyone to debate,” Fahrenkopf said in a virtual meeting of supporters of No Labels, which has continued as an advocacy group after it abandoned plans for a third-party presidential ticket. But he noted candidates have repeatedly toyed with skipping debates or finding alternatives before eventually showing up, though one was canceled in 2020 when Trump refused to appear virtually after he contracted COVID-19.
Sweden beats France, Britain relegated after losing to Norway at hockey worlds
Harvard president resigns amid new plagiarism allegations
China secures Paris women's epee berth with World Cup silver
Xi's Love for the Yellow River
Sweden beats France, Britain relegated after losing to Norway at hockey worlds
CPC Central Committee Holds Consultative Meeting on Reform Plan of Party, State Institutions
What they say on International Women's Day
Asian regional cooperation highlighted at security meeting
OpenAI pauses ChatGPT voice after Scarlett Johansson comparisons
Washington moves seen as risking instability
Ship that caused Baltimore bridge collapse has been refloated
Children visited Xiamen Science and Technology Museum during winter vacation