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Saturday, April 27, 2024

President Tells Stern He'll Debate Trump


President Biden said on Friday that he would participate in a general-election debate with former President Donald J. Trump, a striking shift after months in which he and his campaign declined to commit to appearing onstage with his Republican rival.

Biden’s announcement, made in response to a question from the radio host Howard Stern on SiriusXM, comes after pressure from television networks and Trump’s campaign for the president to agree to participate in debates.

When Stern asked Mr. Biden if he would debate Trump, the president replied: “I am, somewhere, I don’t know when, but I am happy to debate him.”


Biden’s remarks appeared to be off the cuff, rather than a planned announcement of a shift in his campaign’s strategy, according to a top Democratic official familiar with its thinking. The Biden campaign directed questions on Friday about whether its stance on debates had changed to Biden’s comments on the Stern program.

On Stern's Show Friday, Biden made the following claims...


This month, the five major TV news networks and The Associated Press wrote an unusual letter to the Biden and Trump campaigns urging them to debate. Some of Mr. Biden’s top aides and closest advisers have been longtime critics of the presidential debate system, which is organized by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.

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