PHOENIX (AP) — The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which has planned presidential faceoffs in every election since 1988, has an uncertain future after President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump struck an agreement to meet on their own.
The Biden and Trump campaigns announced a deal Wednesday to meet for debates in June on CNN and September on ABC. Just a day earlier, Frank Fahrenkopf, chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates, had sounded optimistic that the candidates would eventually come around to accepting the commission’s debates.
“There’s no way you can force anyone to debate,” Fahrenkopf said in a virtual meeting of supporters of No Labels, which has continued as an advocacy group after it abandoned plans for a third-party presidential ticket. But he noted candidates have repeatedly toyed with skipping debates or finding alternatives before eventually showing up, though one was canceled in 2020 when Trump refused to appear virtually after he contracted COVID-19.
Red Lobster seeks bankruptcy protection after closing some restaurants
Chinese premier holds talks with Dominican PM
Push for More Parental Care Leave Gathers Pace
Georgia Republicans choose Amy Kremer, organizer of pro
Campaign to Ensure More Children Insured
In a First, Marriage Registration Office Provides Documents in Braille
Int'l Tourism Festival Featuring Frozen Waterfalls Opens at Jiuzhaigou National Park
Supreme Court rejects an appeal from a Canadian man once held at Guantanamo
Student fatally shot, suspect detained at Georgia's Kennesaw State University
People Prepare for Spring Festival Across China