America’s top TV networks plan to issue an open letter asking for President Joe Biden and Donald Trump to participate in a televised election debate, according to two sources with direct knowledge who spoke to The New York Times.
The Times obtained a draft version of a letter endorsed by ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News, which reads, “We, the undersigned national news organizations, urge the presumptive presidential nominees to publicly commit to participating in general election debates before November’s election.”
According to the Times, the letter has yet to be finalized and its authors are hoping to add the names of other major news organizations to its list.
On Wednesday, a representative for NewsNation told HuffPost the cable network has also co-signed the request.
Word of the yet-to-be published plea comes while Biden has expressed doubts about debating presumptive Republican nominee Trump, despite the fact September and October events have already been scheduled by the nonpartisan organizer, the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Asked about the possibility of a 2024 presidential election debate by the press in March, Biden said, “It depends on” Trump’s “behavior.”
Trump has made it clear he’s eager to go one-on-one with his opponent. Last week, he taunted Biden by appearing onstage with an empty lectern while declaring he was ready to debate the Democrat “anytime, any place.”
Making a case for both sides to be heard, the draft letter went on to read, “If there is one thing Americans can agree on, during this polarized time, it is that the stakes of this election are exceptionally high.”
“There is simply no substitute for the candidates debating with each other, and before the American people, their visions for the future of the nation.”
The absence of a general election debate would be a major break in American political tradition.
Every presidential election since 1976 has included a televised debate between the major party candidates.