TV Networks Urge Biden and Trump to Commit to Election Debates: The Stakes Are ‘Exceptionally High’

Claire Franken
·2 min read
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Major broadcast and cable news networks released a joint statement on Sunday urging the “presumptive presidential nominees” to commit to general election debates.

The Commission on Presidential Debates has already announced dates, times and eligibility criteria for debates in 2024. While it’s too early for official invitations to be sent, the TV networks write that candidates who meet the criteria should “publicly state their support for – and their intention to participate in – the Commission’s debates planned for this fall.”

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The letter has been signed by the following networks: ABC News, The Associated Press, CBS News, CNN, C-SPAN, FOX News Media, NBCUniversal News Group, NewsNation, Noticias Univision (Univision Network News), NPR, PBS NewsHour and USA TODAY.

The petition goes on to outline the importance of debates, calling them a “rich tradition in our American democracy” and a “vital” component in elections since 1976. “In each of those elections, tens of millions have tuned in to watch the candidates debating side by side, in a competition of ideas for the votes of American citizens,” the letter states.

President Biden has not committed to debates this year, with his team in December saying they were focusing on building “a campaign and infrastructure that’s going to be able to be competitive in 2024.” As for Trump, his team recently called for earlier debates. The Trump campaign has also continued their 2020 attack on the Commission, claiming that it has unfairly “ceded to the wishes of the Biden campaign on every front.”

“If there is one thing Americans can agree on during this polarized time, it is that the stakes of this election are exceptionally high,” the letter concludes. “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.”

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