Former President Donald Trump has avoided debating his Republican primary opponents, but now, as the overwhelming favorite for the GOP nomination, he wants to debate his likely general election opponent.
Trump said he would like to debate President Joe Biden “now” while appearing on the Dan Bongino Show on Monday.
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“I’d like to debate him now because we should debate. We should debate for the good of the country,” Trump said.
The former president debated Biden twice in 2020 in debates organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates. A third debate, scheduled between the first and second debates the pair participated in, was planned but canceled after Trump tested positive for COVID-19 and controversy caused the moderator of that debate to be ousted.
Trump’s main GOP challenger, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, has called out the former president for not being willing to debate him, but Trump’s campaign appears to be looking beyond the primary contest.
When asked by a reporter if he would debate Trump, Biden did not give a clear answer.
“If I were him, I would want to debate me too. He’s got nothing else to do,” Biden said in Nevada on Monday.
Since 1976, major party presidential nominees have debated each other ahead of the general election in November. The first televised presidential debate was held in 1960.
The most recent organizer of general election presidential debates has been the Commission on Presidential Debates, but it is unclear if both major party candidates will participate in debates organized by the group.
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The Republican National Committee voted unanimously in 2022 to withdraw from the commission after they refused to make changes the RNC was seeking.
The Commission on Presidential Debates has announced it plans to hold four debates, three presidential and one vice presidential debate, before the November election. The colleges selected to host the debates in September and October include Texas State University, Lafayette College, Virginia State University, and the University of Utah.
