{"id":2223304,"date":"2024-04-17T14:27:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T18:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/instead-of-debates-with-rigged-moderators-trump-should-challenge-biden-to-lincoln-douglas-contests\/"},"modified":"2024-04-17T14:30:39","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T18:30:39","slug":"instead-of-debates-with-rigged-moderators-trump-should-challenge-biden-to-lincoln-douglas-contests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/instead-of-debates-with-rigged-moderators-trump-should-challenge-biden-to-lincoln-douglas-contests\/","title":{"rendered":"Instead of engaging in debates with biased moderators, Trump could propose Lincoln-Douglas contests to challenge Biden directly"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Finstead-of-debates-with-rigged-moderators-trump-should-challenge-biden-to-lincoln-douglas-contests%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2223304&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article criticizes the\u200d current \u2063presidential debate format\u2064 and suggests \u2064a\u2063 return to the principles of 1858. It highlights concerns about biased\u200d moderators, the \u200btiming of\u2063 debates conflicting \u200cwith <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hollywood-liberals-dumping-massive-amounts-of-money-into-georgia-senate-runoffs\/\" title=\"Hollywood Liberals Dumping Massive Amounts Of Money Into Georgia Senate Runoffs\">early voting<\/a>, and a perceived <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/free-speech-organization-sues-university-of-central-florida-for-discriminatory-speech-policies\/\" title=\"Free Speech Organization Sues University of Central Florida For \u2018Discriminatory\u2019 Speech Policies\">hostile environment<\/a> for \u2062Republican\u2063 candidates. The piece \u200calso \u200cdiscusses Biden&#8217;s hesitance to engage in direct debates with his challenger and \u200dTrump&#8217;s willingness to\u200c participate.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>The current presidential debate format is absurd. It\u2019s time to return to 1858. <\/p>\n<p>First, the nationally televised forums are organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates, a supposedly non-partisan group tasked with platforming the major candidates every fall. Except the commission\u2019s leadership in 2020 was made up <a href=\"https:\/\/thefdrlst.wpengine.com\/2020\/10\/09\/bob-dole-blasts-unfair-presidential-debate-commission-says-it-is-biased-against-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">entirely <\/a>of Joe Biden supporters, and this year, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/un-official-running-investigation-into-israel-defends-colleague-who-said-jewish-lobby-controls-social-media\/\" title=\"UN Official Running Investigation Into Israel Defends Colleague Who Said Jewish Lobby Controls Social Media\">commission continues<\/a> to make decisions favorable to the incumbent president. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-8534109\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-82c0ffc71672f4ad6258838a3f1aaef0 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-82c0ffc71672f4ad6258838a3f1aaef0\"><\/div>\n<p>Second, the debate <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Presidential_debates,_2024#General_election_debates\">calendar<\/a> the commission unveiled continues to place debates after <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Early_voting_dates,_2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">several states<\/a> have already opened up voting for millions. <\/p>\n<p>Third, the Republican nominee is expected to participate in a head-to-head matchup in yet another hostile environment. While no moderators have been announced for this year\u2019s lineup, a look at previous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.presidency.ucsb.edu\/documents\/presidential-documents-archive-guidebook\/presidential-campaigns-debates-and-endorsements-0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">years\u2019<\/a> hosts gives no Republican reason to enter an unfair cage match. Moderators in 2020 included NBC\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/10\/21\/kristen-welkers-activist-track-record-perfectly-qualifies-her-for-the-anti-trump-debate-commission\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kristen Welker<\/a> and former Fox News Host Chris Wallace (<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/12\/12\/goodbye-chris-wallace-and-hello-maybe-to-a-better-sunday-news-show\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">now at CNN<\/a>), both of whom <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/tv\/chris-wallace-terrible-misconduct-from-fbi-on-fisa-doesnt-mean-the-entire-russia-investigation-was-fraudulent\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">peddled <\/a>the Russia collusion hoax for years. In fact, the second debate scheduled in 2020 was canceled after the moderator from C-SPAN publicly <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/10\/09\/debate-moderator-former-biden-intern-steve-scully-publicly-asks-trump-hater-scaramucci-for-advice-on-going-after-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">exposed<\/a> himself as a partisan hack seeking advice on adversarial questions for Donald Trump just before the townhall showdown. <\/p>\n<p>Despite the institutional advantages, President Biden, whom federal investigators determined earlier this year was far <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/02\/08\/prosecutors-decline-to-charge-elderly-biden-over-poor-memory\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">too senile<\/a> to face felony indictments, is hesitating to engage with his top challenger for a one-on-one debate this fall. Instead, the White House is hinging its strategy on an aggressive <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/04\/09\/last-week-in-lawfare-land-what-to-know-about-each-legal-crusade-against-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lawfare <\/a>campaign to imprison Biden\u2019s chief political opponent before the November election deadline. <\/p>\n<p>The president and his surrogates have already started to throw cold water on plans to debate his Republican predecessor come September. When asked last month whether he would commit to the traditional forum, Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/campaign\/4519792-biden-doesnt-rule-out-debating-trump-general-election-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said, <\/a>\u201cIt depends on [Trump\u2019s] behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2a61ce7fa858fe3e0ab64ee94b1ac0b5 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2a61ce7fa858fe3e0ab64ee94b1ac0b5\"><\/div>\n<p>Biden\u2019s campaign co-chair, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, was more explicit: \u201cI wouldn\u2019t encourage it,\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RNCResearch\/status\/1765873716745912644\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Trump, on the other hand, has made <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-68497838\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">clear <\/a>the Republican nominee\u2019s willingness to debate Biden \u201canytime, anywhere, anyplace.\u201d But given that Biden is already foreshadowing a withdrawal from the traditional three debates this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-red-wave-of-conservative-women-elected-to-congress\/\" title=\"The Red Wave of Conservative Women Elected to Congress\">election cycle<\/a>, Trump ought to go one step further, and challenge the White House incumbent to a series of debates free of outside influence. <\/p>\n<p>In the 2012 Republican primary, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich made challenging then-President Barack Obama to several Lincoln-Douglas-style debates a hallmark of his campaign. In the 1858 Senate election, Abraham Lincoln <a href=\"https:\/\/people.uncw.edu\/rohlerl\/rohler\/Keeter2.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">followed<\/a> Sen. Stephen Douglas around Illinois and began delivering responses to the incumbent\u2019s speeches. <\/p>\n<p>Douglas eventually agreed to a series of seven debates with no moderators, giving voters a clear contrast between the two candidates. In 2011, Gingrich promised to do the same. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1ffbf81071c7594bde14982834968a0e fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1ffbf81071c7594bde14982834968a0e\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe White House will be my scheduler, and wherever the president goes I will show up four hours later to respond to his speech,\u201d Gingrich <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2011\/12\/newt-ill-trail-obama-until-he-debates-069593\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pledged<\/a>, until Obama agreed to debate. <\/p>\n<p>Trump should do the same, following Biden around until the incumbent president agrees to debate. <\/p>\n<p>Returning to the format of 1858, with no moderator beyond a timekeeper, offers Trump a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/politician-records-topless-video-bragging-about-fornicating-asking-for-votes-then-calls-herself-a-victim\/\" title=\"Politician's Topless Video: Boasting, Seeking Votes, and Claiming Victimhood.\">bold campaign strategy<\/a> to expose Biden\u2019s weaknesses while creating an escape from an almost surely rigged forum. Trump should begin following Biden now and through the summer, well before voters head to the polls this fall. <\/p>\n<p><strong>[RELATED:[RELATED:<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/02\/14\/dont-count-on-a-trump-biden-debate-this-fall\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Don\u2019t Count On A Trump-Biden Debate This Fall<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-137f5703c98093f6273359155ac7aa61 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-137f5703c98093f6273359155ac7aa61\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The modern presidential debate format is flawed. Why not hark back to 1858? Today, the Commission on Presidential Debates arranges nationally televised forums for major candidates each fall. However, in 2020, the commission&#8217;s leadership comprised solely of Joe Biden supporters. Time for a change<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":494,"featured_media":2223305,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Trump-Biden-Debate.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2223304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Trump-Biden-Debate.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2223304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/494"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2223304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2223304\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2223305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2223304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2223304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2223304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}