Trump Says He Wants Debates To Start Early Because Of Mail-In Voting
US President Donald Trump said Thursday he wants this fall’s presidential debates to start earlier than the current schedule because of mail-in voting.
How can voters be sending in Ballots starting, in some cases, one month before the First Presidential Debate. Move the First Debate up. A debate, to me, is a Public Service. Joe Biden and I owe it to the American People!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 6, 2020
The president’s tweet follows reporting from Axios Wednesday that Trump’s campaign asked the Commission on Presidential Debates to schedule an additional debate in the first week of September, before early voting begins in states that offer it. Currently, the first debate between Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden is scheduled for Sept. 29.
The Trump campaign’s letter also lists preferred debate moderators, many of which are hosts on the president’s favourite network, Fox News.
The moves suggest Trump’s campaign is trying to improve conditions and lower expectations for the debates with Biden, whom they’ve falsely claimed is “hiding” because of limited in-person campaign events amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this week, Biden announced he would not travel to the party’s convention in Milwaukee to accept the Democratic nomination in person, citing COVID-19 safety measures.
“The mayor has put in place a 225-person limit on people assembling in any one place. I think it’s the right thing to do,” Biden said at a campaign event Wednesday. “I’ve wanted to set an example as to how we should respond individually to this crisis.”
Citing Biden’s announcement, Trump campaign spokesperson Tim Murtaugh told Axios that “we are convinced he’ll try to weasel out of debates.”
“We have said all along, including in a letter to the commission in June, that Joe Biden will appear on the dates that the commission selected and in the locations they chose,” Biden’s campaign spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a...
