As racial tensions and unrest sweep the nation against the backdrop of a pandemic and mass unemployment, President Trump is trailing presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in the polls.
His plan to ensure he makes a comeback in the election? More debates.
Trump, with the help of his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, is pressing the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates to add at least one more Trump-Biden showdown to the three already scheduled on Sept. 29, Oct. 15, and Oct. 22 ahead of the election.
In a call with the commission, Politico reported, Giuliani also wanted to move debates so they would not conflict with NFL games and so there was a debate before voting starts.
“We want fair debates. We want them sooner, and we want a bigger schedule. We also don’t want them up against football games competing for viewers. As many Americans as possible need to see the stark differences between the accomplishments and leadership of President Trump and the failed record and sleepiness of Joe Biden,” Brad Parscale told the New York Times.
The strategy, according with officials close to the campaign, rests on defining Biden, 77, as a man too old and incompetent to be president. The more Biden talks, the more he is likely to produce mockery-worthy soundbites that the Trump campaign can weaponize. On Friday, the Trump campaign launched a new website poking fun at the former vice president called “Barely There Biden,” filled with embarrassing clips of Biden.
But that strategy only works if the campaign succeeds in increasing Biden’s time in the hot seat, and the Biden campaign is not giving in to Trump’s demands.
“Six months after announcing he did not want to debate, Donald Trump — now trailing in the polls — wants to change the subject from his failed leadership, and launch a ‘campaign’ for many debates. But there’s a catch: he’ll only do it if he can pick the moderators,” Biden’s deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said in a statement. “We will make this simple: like every other Democratic and Republican candidate since 1992, we will show up for the debates set by the Commission on Presidential Debates, at the places they have selected, on the dates they have selected, with the formats and moderators they designate — so long as Donald Trump does the same, and does not intimidate the Commission into changes from past practices.”
Instead, the move has the potential to backfire. Begging for more debates could make him look weak.
The new stance is a stark contrast from December when the New York Times reported that Trump was considering skipping debates because of his disagreements with the commission on how the 2016 debates against Hillary Clinton were handled. Trump was better-positioned for the 2020 race six months ago.
Trump also skipped a presidential debate in the 2016 Republican primary cycle, when he topped the polls in the field, and the move did not harm him.
But there is a move that Trump could make if he does fail to get another debate: renew his frequent complaint that the process is rigged against him.
