{"id":2223949,"date":"2024-04-18T08:10:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T12:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/americans-deserve-a-presidential-debate-but-democrats-wont-give-it-to-them\/"},"modified":"2024-04-18T08:15:17","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T12:15:17","slug":"americans-deserve-a-presidential-debate-but-democrats-wont-give-it-to-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/americans-deserve-a-presidential-debate-but-democrats-wont-give-it-to-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Americans should have a presidential debate, but Democrats are reluctant to provide one"},"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\">26<\/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%2Famericans-deserve-a-presidential-debate-but-democrats-wont-give-it-to-them%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=2223949&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>A joint letter signed by major media outlets urges President \u2063Joe Biden and Donald Trump\u2062 to debate. Prominent newspapers\u2064 like The \u2063New York Times and The Washington Post did not\u2064 sign, \u200breflecting a broad media \u200cstance. The \u200babsence of a debate in 2024 may break\u200d a 50-year tradition, \u200cpossibly \u200cdue to Democrats viewing Trump as unfit for normal campaign courtesies. A\u200d joint letter signed by major media outlets calls for a\u200d debate between President Joe Biden \u200cand\u2062 Donald Trump. The \u2063absence of a debate in 2024 could end a 50-year tradition, potentially because Democrats consider Trump\u200c unworthy of traditional campaign practices.  <\/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>This week, 10 major broadcast outlets as well as USA Today and the Associated Press signed a <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-biden-presidential-debates-election-news-organizations-aa66e90b425e89578f3fe0358bffff5c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">joint letter<\/a> urging both President Joe Biden and his GOP challenger, former President Donald Trump, to debate each other. Though none of the country\u2019s leading newspapers including The New York Times, The Washington Post, or The Wall Street Journal signed, the document represents the opinion of a broad cross-section of the corporate media including the legacy broadcast networks, PBS, and NPR, with one conservative outlet, Fox News, also joining.<\/p>\n<p>The signatories are right. Americans deserve presidential debates in 2024. The debates provide the only chance for voters to see the candidates matched up against each other in person. Their effect on the results may not be as dramatic as the claims made during the usual pre- and post-debate hype. The quality of the discourse and the various formats employed are also usually far from ideal. But they are the most watched element of campaign coverage all year. As such, they give the electorate a better understanding of their choices than the endless stream of television commercials and social media ads to which they are subjected throughout the election cycle.<\/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__b89e9-1650029292\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4480a2feb254b0a9ffe8ae36ee20149b fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4480a2feb254b0a9ffe8ae36ee20149b\"><\/div>\n<p>But despite the pleas of the networks, 2024 is likely to be the first time there will be no presidential debate in over 50 years. And the reason won\u2019t be due to the Republicans\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/gop.com\/press-release\/rnc-unanimously-votes-to-withdraw-from-commission-on-presidential-debates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">justified distrust<\/a> of the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has, despite its claims of bipartisanship, often demonstrated bias in favor of Democrats. It won\u2019t be because the GOP thinks that holding the commission\u2019s scheduled debates on Sept. 16, Oct. 1, and Oct. 9 is wrong since, due to early voting rules, many Americans will have already cast their ballots before they are held.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Treating Trump as Illegitimate<\/h2>\n<p>The main reason Democrats are likely to refuse also isn\u2019t because the visibly aging and often infirm Biden may not be up to the challenge of staying on his feet and remaining relatively coherent during the three grueling 90-minute sessions the commission has set.<\/p>\n<p>If no debates occur, the most likely reason will not be disputes about the dates or the rules or even the Democrats\u2019 efforts to bubble-wrap Biden to avoid reminding voters of how infirm he appears to have become.<\/p>\n<p>It will be because the whole point of the 2024 Democratic campaign is to treat Trump and the Republican Party as unworthy of the normal courtesies extended to political opponents in a free country. Democrats have done everything they can to imprison Trump on a variety of bogus criminal charges with the main focus of their pitch to voters being that defeating him is essential to the survival of democracy.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d0bccdbfc66fa559966f12357eb966cb fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d0bccdbfc66fa559966f12357eb966cb\"><\/div>\n<p>The mere act of Biden standing alongside his opponent and being forced to answer his questions and arguments, regardless of how unfair the formats or the moderators might be, undermines that premise. The pretense that the faltering, hyperbolic Biden is the standard-bearer not of a political party but of the defense of the American way of life against a criminal is incompatible with the traditional norms of democratic elections.<\/p>\n<p>The heavy lifting for the case that Biden shouldn\u2019t deign to debate Trump won\u2019t be done by his campaign. It will be the work of Democrat prosecutors in trials like the farce being played in Manhattan, where Trump is being tried for a campaign finance violation by a state court rather than a federal one because of the absurd claim that paying hush money to Stormy Daniels was an unreported contribution. And if jurors in deep-blue New York City convict him on this ridiculous charge, it will be all the reason Biden needs to declare that he can\u2019t debate a felon, even if everyone involved knows any conviction won\u2019t withstand appellate scrutiny. The other Trump trials, if any or all of them are held before the election, will provide the same service to Democrats.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Not since Nixon<\/h2>\n<p>The last time there was no presidential debate was in 1972, when President Richard Nixon refused to accept a challenge from Democratic candidate Sen. George McGovern, whom he would defeat in a historic landslide. Nixon had famously suffered from the comparison with the more telegenic John F. Kennedy when the pair engaged in the first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/neil-patel-the-misinformation-police-are-coming-for-you\/\" title=\"Neil Patel: The Misinformation Police Are Coming for You\">televised presidential debate<\/a> in 1960. But President Lyndon Johnson felt no need to debate Sen. Barry Goldwater in 1964 before his post-Kennedy assassination landslide win. And Nixon, who was clearly gun shy about debates after being subjected to mockery for his five o\u2019clock shadow in 1960 and of the opinion that engaging in one would only help his underdog Democratic opponent, turned away Vice President Hubert Humphrey\u2019s challenge before winning in 1968 and did the same four years later.<\/p>\n<p>Since then, the debates have become not merely a respected tradition but also the main events of the presidential campaign, with challengers and incumbents feeling they had an obligation to participate even when they had little to gain by doing so. The debates have reminded no one of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, though it\u2019s hard to imagine contemporary audiences sitting placidly through the lengthy orations that were given during their confrontations in their 1858 Illinois Senate campaign. But no matter how bad the performances or puerile the exchanges, they did give voters some idea of the candidates\u2019 stands on the issues.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-836369c18cd61b7279159fa4992da882 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-836369c18cd61b7279159fa4992da882\"><\/div>\n<p>The Biden campaign and the White House have already <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RNCResearch\/status\/1765873716745912644\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">refused<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RNCResearch\/status\/1754890754873348409\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">commit<\/a> to debate a number of different times, something that no <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nolte-polls-show-hobbled-biden-limping-into-sotu-trailing-trump-in-rematch\/\" title=\"Nolte: Polls Show Hobbled Biden Limping Into SOTU, Trailing Trump in Rematch\">major party candidate<\/a> has done since Nixon. And it\u2019s possible that Democrats will use the GOP trashing of the commission as the excuse. The chances that they will engage on Trump\u2019s terms \u2014 he wants more debates and for them to be held earlier \u2014 are also negligible. They\u2019ll also note that Trump refused to debate other Republicans during the 2024 election cycle and call him a hypocrite. Although Biden similarly refused to engage with any potential Democrat challengers, making the process that had already been stacked against them even more difficult.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Drugging Biden<\/h2>\n<p>As for Biden\u2019s fitness for debate, while the evidence of his aging and confusion is often on display, he has managed to summon up the stamina for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-official-announces-legislation-to-protect-national-anthem-in-wake-of-nba-controversy\/\" title=\"Texas Official Announces Legislation to \u2018Protect\u2019 National Anthem in Wake of NBA Controversy\">major events<\/a>. That was true of his most recent State of the Union address last month, though the president\u2019s oddly sped-up delivery and manic manner caused some informed observers, such as The Federalist\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MZHemingway\/status\/1766089625553023067?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1766089625553023067%7Ctwgr%5Eae897111193864bc1245129fba119c0c0e167807%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&#038;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnymag.com%2Fintelligencer%2Farticle%2Fbiden-state-of-the-union-speech-drugs-trump.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mollie Hemingway<\/a>, as well as Trump, to wonder whether he had been administered some sort of drug. Democrats dismissed the accusation as proof of how well Biden had done, though polls showed that after the hyperpartisan rant, his approval ratings fell to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/joe-biden-approval-rating-sotu-address-2024-1878673\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">all-time low<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>With that example in mind, as well as considering Biden\u2019s enormous ego, age won\u2019t likely deter the president from debating any more than it prevented him from running for reelection. And since Biden and the Democrats remain in denial about the fact that Trump has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/president\/general\/2024\/trump-vs-biden\">leading<\/a> the race all year after trailing every single day of both the 2016 and 2020 election cycles, the underdog\u2019s need to score points against the favorite won\u2019t likely motivate them to accept a debate with Trump.<\/p>\n<p>This decision has been the most likely outcome since Democrats chose to turn the Jan. 6 Capitol riot into an \u201cinsurrection.\u201d They have sought to depict the GOP as unworthy of power ever since. It also raises the question of how they will react if they do lose in November \u2014 with a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/02\/29\/democrats-are-already-planning-their-own-insurrection-if-trump-wins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Democrat insurrection<\/a> of one sort or another a very real possibility.<\/p>\n<p>The decision about debates will be one more indication that the Democrats\u2019 claims about Republicans seeking to destroy democracy are pure projection. As with their attempts to throw Trump off the ballot, confiscate his income, and imprison him on absurd charges that would embarrass a banana republic, they are determined to win in 2024 by not accepting the legitimacy of the candidate preferred by approximately half the country and, as of now, the likely winner. That makes a debate on any terms a long shot at best. No matter whom you plan to vote for, that shortchanges the public and makes it clear that Democrats have no interest in a free and fair election.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-8cf573aa05bd60bf22d8442dcc483816 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-8cf573aa05bd60bf22d8442dcc483816\"><\/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>This week, 10 major broadcast outlets, USA Today, and the Associated Press penned a joint letter pushing for a debate between President Joe Biden and ex-President Donald Trump. Notably, prominent newspapers like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal did not join in the call for a debate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":559,"featured_media":2223950,"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\/debate-e1713379819171.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2223949","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\/debate-e1713379819171.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2223949","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\/559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2223949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2223949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2223950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2223949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2223949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2223949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}