Trump Campaign Demanding Debates: Biden Campaign Strangely Quiet

There's a reason that Donald Trump's presidential campaign — and the candidate himself — are calling for more and earlier presidential debates. There's a reason that the Biden campaign has been strangely quiet on the topic. As it happens, both reasons are the same: Joe Biden's ongoing and obvious mental and physical deterioration.

Fox News, in an exclusive story reported Thursday, obtained a letter sent by the Trump campaign to The Commission on Presidential Debates co-chairs Frank Farenkopf Jr. and Antonia Hernandez, asking for more and earlier debates between the two presumptive candidates.

The Trump campaign is calling for additional 2024 presidential debates and for them to take place "much earlier" than initially proposed by the debate commission, with former President Trump telling Fox News Digital that he is "totally committed" to debating President Biden "anytime, anywhere, anyplace."
Fox News Digital exclusively obtained a letter Trump co-campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita sent Thursday to The Commission on Presidential Debates co-chairs Frank Farenkopf Jr. and Antonia Hernandez.
Wiles and LaCivita told the commission they were writing "in agreement with the pending letter," reported by The New York Times, "from television networks advocating for presidential debates to occur in 2024."
"While the Commission on Presidential Debates has already announced three presidential debates and a vice-presidential debate to occur later this year, we are in favor of these debates beginning much earlier," they wrote.

The Trump campaign cited early voting in many states as the reason for moving the debates.

First, Wiles and LaCivita said "voting is beginning earlier and earlier, and as we saw in 2020, tens of millions of Americans had already voted by the time of the first debate."

The Biden campaign has been strangely quiet on the subject, and that's understandable given the state of their candidate.

During the Republican primaries, Donald Trump refused to take part in the primary debates, enduring much criticism from the other candidates for doing so. Trump cited his first term and his rankings in the polls for skipping those debates, but that process is over now, and as it happens, Trump was correct in presuming himself to be the eventual nominee. Party conventions notwithstanding, the general election is effectively underway, and Trump has repeatedly stated that he is willing to debate Joe Biden "any time, anywhere, any place."

Presidential debates have historically been a key part of the American presidential election process, and while some debates seem to pass with no notice, I do remember a few key points that may well have played a significant role in deciding an election; for example, in 1980 and 1984, Ronald Reagan scored some great points against opponents Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale:

The major television networks are also pushing for a commitment to a debate schedule, as my colleague Becky Noble noted on Wednesday.

Previously on RedState: Pressure From TV Networks for Presidential Debates Mounts - Will Democrats Wiggle Out of It or Can They?

Here's the onion: Joe Biden, honestly, is not up to the debates. He's not competent any longer. He would fare badly in a debate against Trump, as he would have fared equally badly in a debate against Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, or anyone else who may have been the GOP nominee.

The first layer of this onion is Joe Biden's track record. Inflation has exploded under his watch; there has been a mass influx of unscreened, unvetted illegal immigration. The disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and repeated appeasement of Iran are all issues with which Trump could, rightfully, hammer the incumbent.

The second layer of this onion is Biden himself. The man, to put it bluntly, is losing it. He shows all the signs of encroaching dementia: sudden fits of unfounded anger, trouble with word finding, spatial disorientation, and confusion. He is manifestly unfit for the job, and putting him on the stage with the more energetic Trump will make that plainer than ever.

The final layer of the onion, one that is most able to bring tears to the eyes of the Biden campaign, is Donald Trump. The man is spoiling for a fight, and there are few better political pugilists in the national picture today. He feels he was robbed out of a second term and is going to be ready to hammer Biden on the stage, and the Biden administration has, in the last three years, given him a lot to work with.

As of this writing, the Biden campaign has not committed to even one debate with Donald Trump. That's telling. The Biden campaign can't keep Joe in the basement this time, and while they seem to be trotting him out more often for screened, scripted appearances, that can't continue. Sooner or later, he has to kiss the baby. That won't go well for him.