Biden Stops Trump's Plan To Rig The Debates Dead In Its Tracks

[babylonsister]

https://www.politicususa.com/2020/06/22/biden-no-more-debates.html


Posted on Mon, Jun 22nd, 2020 by Jason Easley
Biden Stops Trump’s Plan To Rig The Debates Dead In Its Tracks


Former Vice President Biden made it clear to the Commission On Presidential Debates that there will not be additional presidential debates with Trump chosen moderators.

CBS News reported:

The Biden campaign is also calling on the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates to explain how it plans to hold the in-person debates scheduled for September and October, despite the coronavirus pandemic.

“There is no reason why Vice President Biden and President Trump cannot meet for debates with appropriate safety and social distancing measures (set by public health authorities) on the three dates the CPD has identified. Nothing should prevent the conduct of debates between Joe Biden and Donald Trump on these dates; again, we do not want to provide President Trump with any excuses for not debating,” the Biden campaign wrote in a letter to the commission on Monday.

The Trump campaign was trying to get more debates with Joe Biden on the condition that they got to pick the moderators. Biden was never going to agree to such a condition, and there is no need for him to do any additional debates. Candidates who are winning have nothing to gain by agreeing to additional debates.

Trump has been threatening to skip the 2020 debates for years because he fears the moderators.

Trump is losing, and he is going to have to debate Joe Biden in a neutral setting. The former vice president isn’t going to allow Trump to rig the debates.

[Maeve]

1. I'd prefer to see them do it without an audience

Other than the moderating panel and camera crew

[Laelth]

2. Agreed.

But, then we get no applause and no crowd reaction. This is a tricky situation, and we have no precedent for it. Personally, I would not mind canceling all the debates.

-Laelth

[JI7]

3. it makes no sense to cancel . And you don't need applause and crowd reaction. In fact they usually

tell the crowd not to applaud other than when they introduce the candidates .

[Laelth]

24. I don't want to be responsible for assembling a crowd.

Not in the middle of a pandemic. Not when it looks like I participated in assembling that crowd to advance my own political interests. I don’t want to look that hypocritical.

Trump will probably insist upon an audience. If he is willing to debate without an audience, fine. Let them proceed, but I don’t want to be a party to a plan to pack thousands of people in a room during a raging pandemic.

-Laelth

[Laura PourMeADrink]

34. Yes. He needs the feedback of an audience like his

Twitter followers and rally adorers. Plus he badgers reporters who ask tough questions - he will do that again.

[ProfessorGAC]

65. There Are States That Wouldn't Let Them

They moved it out of Michigan.
I'm quite certain Pritzker wouldn't grant an exemption for an audience at a debate here in Illinois.
But, there are states that would let them do it.

[karynnj]

17. Did the famous JFK Nixon debate have an audience?

I do not think it did, but

[Laelth]

20. Audience isn't necessary, admittedly.

I suspect Trump will insist upon an audience, and I think an audience at each event is the current plan. Correct me if I am wrong, please.

Trump needs the debates. Biden does not. If it comes down to a choice between risking coronavirus infections with a packed audience or no debates at all, I choose no debates. I don’t want to look like a hypocrite.

-Laelth

[bobbieinok]

23. Didn't one U decide NOT to hold debates b/c of crowds, hordes of media? Too risky!!

[Laelth]

25. Yes. A Michigan school has already bailed on hosting a debate.

They did so because they didn’t want to be a party to an event that packed thousands of people in a room in the middle of a raging pandemic.

-Laelth

[Cosmocat]

13. The idiot would fold like a tent in that scenario

nm

[Auggie]

29. Audiences are/were a terrible idea

So are network/cable moderators. Too much ego and grandstanding.

[stopdiggin]

56. totally agree. we really started to go off the track

when media decided to gimmick up the debates to provide the public with an American Idol experience.

(we do not need applause tracks, we do not need focus groups, or undecided pools, or "samplings", or reaction meters ... ) Just march out on the stage .. and answer the GD questions .. if you can!
---- -- -- -- -- ----

And now we have a "reality TV" presidency ... And how's that workin' out for ya'?

[Auggie]

60. "American Idol experience" -- well put

Debates have been dumbed-down like most everything else.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

68. Plus about a million.

[NYC Liberal]

61. Yes. The last Biden/Sanders debate had no audience and I thought it was *much* better.

No constant whooping and cheering from the crowd. You can't get away with quippy zingers that play to the audience to mask having no answer.

[stopdiggin]

57. 100% For about a 1000 different reasons (nt)

[Pacifist Patriot]

63. I'd prefer they do it on Zoom.

I don't want Biden anywhere near that contaminated asshole.

[Lonestarblue]

4. I have a debate line for Biden.

As president, I promise to hire real experts who know how to do their jobs, and I also promise not to run the presidency like a reality TV show where someone gets fired every week.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

36. +1. And I promise to insure that any vaccine is administered in a fair

and equitable way, without favoritism to rich or my party's states first.

[getagrip_already]

5. There needs to be a physican barrier to keep trump from walking over to biden.....

like he did with hillary. Maybe a ramp or a treadmill. Something he can't get across.

Because you know he will try to get in joes face.

[cab67]

9. This is part of the reason I was really rooting for Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren.

Either of them would have turned to Trump and said, "Back off, creep."

FWIW, I think Hillary Clinton would have done the same had she known he'd pull that shit. It probably took her by surprise. It took me by surprise, at least - I knew Trump is a sexist prick, but would never have thought he'd behave that badly in front of a camera, especially after the "grab 'em" recording was released. I thought his handlers would have done a better job of managing his stage presence, if not his delivery.

Harris and Warren (and Klobuchar) would have gone into the debate knowing what he'll do.

[niyad]

15. President Clinton wrote about that in her book, "What Happened". Paraphrasing here, as I

don't have the book in front of me, but she said she was torn between telling him to back off and ignoring him. If she said anything, the reichwing press would say she couldn't handle it, easily intimidated. The usual bs from them. Besides, it was the (completely ineffectual and suck-up) moderator's job to tell him to get back to his podium.

[SammyWinstonJack]

11. Maybe a ramp or a treadmill. Something he can't get across. 🤣

[33taw]

12. Rope Bridge?

[cab67]

16. Cayenne pepper?

works for rodents. Ants don't like it, either.

[jaxexpat]

52. A water-filled glass! Two, TWO water-filled glasses!

[GopherGal]

54. A divider made of open umbrellas

[I_UndergroundPanther]

72. Made me laugh.

[MiniMe]

53. Only if they make sure it is a 3 degree grade

tRump seems to have problems with that

[whopis01]

64. A ramp with a gentle slope should do it. n/t

[mercuryblues]

70. A wall of hamberders

would do the trick

[napi21]

73. By then both candidates will have SS protection. It's THEIR JOB to keep the candidate safe.

If one wanders too close to the other, THEY must take his arm & guide him back to his X on the floor! I'd be pretty amused by him being guided back & MAYBE even try to fight the SS! I'd love it!

[GulfCoast66]

74. He won't do that to Joe.

First because he is a man.

Second, Joe would turn, point, and tell him to GTF back. Which trump would run to do.

[jmowreader]

75. No, better

Allow each candidate to have one person sitting in a chair at the edge of the stage for “moral support,” as long as the candidate does not speak to the moral support person.

Biden’s moral support person will be Ndamukong Suh, who is basically a 300-pound honey badger.

[quakerboy]

77. Would that be so terrible?

I feel like trump would contrast as especially bloated, and Joe wouldn't be particularly intimidated. Im not seeing a huge downside.

Also.. Trump claims to be 6'3. He might well be too afraid to stand near Biden as that might make some petty lies even more obvious than usual.

[dreamland]

6. They may have a remote debate but rump will cheat

...if it's in anything but an empty room. I can see someone feeding him lines to questions if it's done remotely. I like the idea of having no audience and having a large stage with two mics on either side.

[DENVERPOPS]

19. Anyone remember "W"'s debates

wearing an ear piece, and having a receiver bump under the back of his jacket??????????/

Everyone was pretty sure he was being sent answers......

They had to cheat somehow......"W"s intellect was far below even Dan Quale's....

The idea of a large stage with two mics on either side is great. My only wish is that the moderator has is able to turn off the mic of the person who isn't giving an answer.....The RepubliCONs are great at raising their voices and continuing to talk when it is not their turn.
They do it all the time on TV commentaries and conversations also.

[area51]

48. I remember the bulge on his jacket back during the debates.

imho, king Donnie won't debate due to his worsening dementia. His team's debate talk is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

[cab67]

7. Trump is setting the stage for declaring the election illegitimate if he loses.

He'll claim the whole thing was rigged - including the debates. He'll claim the debates weren't fair because the moderators were hostile and biased against him.

What Trump wants isn't a debate - it's a campaign rally with Biden in attendance.

[uponit7771]

8. If Trump doesn't want to debate Biden should get *** ALL *** the air time and questions !!!

[SeattleVet]

59. I'd give their campaign equal air time, but if they don't show up...

just show an empty suit and red tie hanging on a rack, with no sound, and the chyron stating "TRUMP RESPONSE".

..and the let Biden say something like, "That's essentially the same response you had to every crisis during your term."

[bucolic_frolic]

10. Hope there are no debates, Trump doesn't play by the rules, instead he invents his own

Remember Stalker Trump? He was like a Zombie lurking behind HRC. It didn't unsettle her, but there is no way she or her campaign could have anticipated such weird behavior. It was a physical display of dominance and you're off your rocker.

Give Trump and Biden separate interviews with neutral moderators. An hour each. Allow them an extra half to respond to previous interviews of the other candidate. There is no benefit to America or Democrats or democracy in debating Trump. He needs to be isolated like a contagion.

And by the way Trump is juicing racism to distract America and absorb liberal energy on the protests and the issue. But that issue is not the most immediate crisis. Trump is the crisis. Getting him out of office is the crisis. Don't let him play you, or play America. Beware every day and every issue and every event and every word he and his henchman Barr says. Every second for the next 6 months.

[DENVERPOPS]

26. I distinctly remember Trump

totally ignoring the question, and immediately launching into one of his talking points that was purely directed at his base.

he did that over and over.........

and, in the matter of any woman debating him on stage, she should wear a belt with a can of mace in a holster. And use it if he ever tries "stalking" her around the stage like he did Hillary.........

Hillary should have turned to the moderator and said: "will you please ask this 'Teenie Weenie Peenie Complex' creep to quit stalking me around the stage"......"He needs to know that I am not one of his highly paid whores"

[SWBTATTReg]

55. Exactly. We've heard enough of trump's BS. No debates. The danger to all is real. Be sensible.

[NewJeffCT]

14. after a few rocky debates to start

Joe did decently in the debates, if I recall. I did not pay attention too much, though, since every candidate there was WAY better than Trump.

[Demsrule86]

35. Joe is best debating traditionally with one opponent...he won quite easily against Sen. Sanders

during their one on one primary debates.

[Towlie]

18. Never wrestle a pig in its own pigsty else you'll get covered with pigshit and the pig will love it.

[Dios Mio]

21. What's there to debate?

[Cha]

62. Reality VS BLOTUS' LIES

[Ferrets are Cool]

22. I will continue to say that there should NOT be ANY debates.

They are useless in 2020. IMO.

[DENVERPOPS]

27. Couldn't agree more Ferrets

The way they are conducted by the moderators, they are less than worthless......

[Ferrets are Cool]

28. And with 24/7 news and social media, if one does not know how they are voting by now

THEY DON'T CARE.

[ecstatic]

32. I love debates, but you've instantly changed my mind.

Look at the way the debates for our primary were conducted. Most of the questions were entirely irrelevant, culture wars b******t, designed to prop up republican talking points.

We are in the middle of a pandemic, a crisis.

Dumbass questions have no place in the moment we're in, and unfortunately, some reporters can't help themselves.

So I agree. No debates, even though Biden would wipe the floor with dump.

[Wounded Bear]

30. Good on Team Joe! nt

[KS Toronado]

31. Why do Presidential Debates need moderators to ask predetermined questions?

Just let Joe and Der Fuhrer ask their own questions of each other, with no one to interrupt them but the stopwatch guy.
Joe will look Presidential and the other will look like the fool that he is.

[ecstatic]

33. I'd like that. nt

[Thekaspervote]

37. Dotard will never debate anyway. Even his handlers know how stupid he will sound

[Ferrets are Cool]

39. I respectfully disagree...it's all about his EGO

Debates are a perfect venue for him to show his "superior intellect".

[KS Toronado]

47. Yep, that's just how stable geniuses think

[Hulk]

38. NO audience!!

Why have a live audience? It only turns it into a circus anyway.

NO LIVE AUDIENCE! Very simple solution.

[vlyons]

40. Hope Biden gets some good writers

to write some great zingers.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

41. But the list of proposed moderators was so promising!

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213617368

[NoMoreRepugs]

42. I vote for 12 ounce boxing gloves as mandatory handwear.

[D1Wheeler]

43. Good

Good on Joe for seeing this ahead of time!

[NurseJackie]

44. "Candidates who are winning have nothing to gain by agreeing to additional debates."

Candidates who are winning have nothing to gain by agreeing to additional debates.

We've seen this holds true many many times in the past... and it's still true today.

[Nitram]

45. Should be interesting to watch this play out. If Trump refuses to debate Biden because he doesn't

get to make the rules, he will look weak and scared to debate Biden. If he does debate Biden, all the symptoms of his hot mess will be on full display to the public.

[Scalded Nun]

46. If they are going to have debates then can we have some real rules of behavior?

1. Each person stays by their podium and does not wander or stalk while their opponent is speaking.
2. When 1 is speaking the opponent's mic is turned off.
3. Arguing any sanction during the debate results in the opponent receiving extra time, to be subtracted from the person receiving the sanction.

Trump does not follow rules and so they must be clear AND enforced by the moderator. Trump pulled this shit on Hillary and no one called him out on it.

[Wednesdays]

50. When did Mango Mussolini ever care about rules?

[coeur_de_lion]

49. Mango Mussolini will NEVER debate Biden

its never going to happen. He will think of some excuse, any excuse.

[Chemisse]

66. He'd be a fool to debate Biden.

But he is a fool, so all bets are off. I have no prediction about what he'll do.

[coeur_de_lion]

67. OMG no way does he have the guts to debate him

I'll wager money on it.

You want to bet?

[SoonerPride]

51. No audience. No wandering around the stage.

Strict time limits with automatic mic shutoff after 15 seconds over time.

[packman]

58. Yah, why didn't Joe agree

Hannity, Ingram and Rush probably would love to do it.

[onetexan]

69. the Idiot will keep making excuses to not debate. Bonespurs are acting up. There's no crowd to cheer

me on. Moderators are not going to be fair me. Hillary's emails are still unfound, i have nothing to hit Biden in the head with...

[Beartracks]

71. To Trump, neutral is antagonistic, because neutral doesn't suck up to him. n/t

[Kablooie]

76. Wonder if Trump will try to hover over Biden during the debate.

Biden should turn around and say thats rude, inappropriate and childish. Now go sit down over there in your seat.