Donald Trump Says He’s Prepared to Debate President Joe Biden 'Immediately'

As the race to November's general election heats up, former President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would want to debate President Joe Biden. During a radio appearance on The Dan Bongino Show, Trump expressed his desire to confront his White House rival 'immediately.' With his skyrocketing polls versus any GOP opponent, Trump has essentially avoided the traditional campaign process. Thus, this remark marked a significant turn in his behavior.

As reported by HuffPost, Trump said during the radio interview, "I'd like to debate him now because we should debate. We should debate for the good of the country." When questioned by reporters about his reaction to Trump's remarks, Biden said, "Immediately? Well, if I were him, I'd want to debate me, too. He's got nothing else to do." Normally, there are three general election debates, but in 2020, Trump and Biden only took part in two. Following Trump's Covid diagnosis, one debate was postponed.

This time, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is the only significant Republican opponent currently left to rival the real estate mogul, and she has consistently lambasted Trump for abstaining from debates throughout the primary season. As such, following Trump's remarks on Monday, Haley's campaign jumped on them, declaring that they were 'thrilled' that he has 'finally acknowledged the importance of debates.' Olivia Perez-Cubas, a spokesman for Haley, said in a statement, "Now it’s time for Trump to man up and agree to debate Nikki Haley. Nikki is ready to put her conservative record and vision for a strong and proud America up against Trump’s campaign of chaos and vendettas."

In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt in December, Trump—who has avoided all of the primary debates so far due to his huge lead in the polls—was asked whether he would confront Biden if his party were to nominate him. As per AP News, Trump said at the time, "Oh will I look forward to that. How about 10 debates?" And that's even if the debates are supported by the Commission on Presidential Debates, an organization he and other Republicans have long opposed. He added, "They are totally corrupt and they’re terrible. With that being said, I would do 20 debates, even if it was organized by them. I would do as many debates as they want. I’d do a debate every night with this guy."

In April 2022, the Republican National Committee unanimously decided to withdraw from the commission's events due to allegations of prejudice. In addition, the committee mandated that candidates sign a pledge promising to only take part in debates approved by the committee. But Trump never put his signature on the promise. Since its founding in 1987, the organization has supported all of the presidential and vice presidential debates leading up to the general election. The group chooses the venues, times, and moderators for the debates as well as the guidelines that apply to each one. During his time as president, Trump charged the panel with bias and eventually declined to take part in the second 2020 debate, which was decided to be conducted virtually due to the coronavirus outbreak.