President Biden said Friday that he will participate in a general election debate with former President Donald J. Trump, after months of him and his campaign refusing to commit to appearing on stage with his Republican rival. , a surprising change.
Biden's announcement came in response to a question from radio host Howard Stern, who said there was pressure on the president to agree to participate in the debate by television networks and the Trump campaign. It was received and carried out.
When Mr. Stern asked Mr. Biden if he intended to debate Mr. Trump, the president replied, “I'm willing to do it at some point, I don't know when.''
A senior Democratic Party official familiar with the party's thinking said Mr. Biden's remarks appeared to be a spontaneous remark rather than a planned announcement of a change in campaign strategy.
This month, the five major television news networks and the Associated Press sent an unusual letter to the Biden and Trump campaigns urging a debate. Some of Biden's closest aides and aides have long criticized the presidential debate system, organized by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.
In November, the Commission on Debates announced that three presidential debates would be held in San Marcos, Texas. Petersburg, Virginia. and Salt Lake City. The vice presidential debate will be held in Easton, Pennsylvania.
The Trump campaign sent a letter to the commission this month asking it to move up three debates scheduled for the fall and add more to the schedule.
Trump has made scolding Biden about the debate a centerpiece of his campaign rallies over the past month. Before the former president took to the stage, a screen displayed an image of his Truth social post claiming he was ready to debate Biden “anytime, anywhere, anywhere.”
A staff member then carries an empty podium onto the stage and holds up a sign with those three words written on it. The lectern remained in place while Trump gave his campaign speech.
“Can you see the podium?” Trump said at a rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, this month. “I call on the crooked Joe Biden to debate anytime, anywhere, anywhere.”
Trump did not participate in any of the Republican primary debates.
The Biden campaign is dodging questions about whether it would agree to a debate with Trump this fall. On Friday, the campaign directed questions about whether its stance on the debate had changed following Biden's comments about the Stern plan.
Chris Lacivita, Trump's top campaign adviser, responded to news of the Biden debate: write on social media: “Okay, let's set it up!”
michael gold Contributed to the report.