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Biden Campaign Dismisses Trump Request for 4th Debate as ‘Distraction’ University of Michigan Plans to Withdraw From Hosting Trump-Biden Debate
(about 5 hours later)
Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s campaign on Monday spurned an effort by President Trump’s advisers to expand the presidential debate schedule in the fall and exert more control over the selection of moderators, dismissing the proposals as a “distraction” while confirming that the former vice president would participate in the three debates that have already been planned. The University of Michigan will withdraw from hosting a presidential debate in October, a source familiar with the school’s plans said Monday night.
In a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates, the nonprofit group that sponsors the debates, Jen O’Malley Dillon, Mr. Biden’s campaign manager, said that he was committed to debating Mr. Trump on Sept. 29, Oct. 15, and Oct. 22, and that his yet-to-be-selected running mate would take part in the vice-presidential debate scheduled for Oct. 7. The university is pulling out of hosting the second presidential debate, scheduled for Oct. 15, because of concerns about bringing large hordes of media and campaign officials to the Ann Arbor campus amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Detroit Free Press, which first reported on the withdrawal.
Two sources directly familiar with the debate planning said the Michigan gathering will be moved to Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, which hosted the first debates of the 2020 Democratic primary season last summer.
The move, expected to be formally announced Tuesday, comes as President Trump has sought to alter the debate schedule, add a fourth debate to the planned three and exert more control over the selection of moderators, which is typically handled by the Commission on Presidential Debates, the nonprofit organization that sponsors presidential general election debates.
The campaign of Mr. Trump’s opponent, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., has rebuffed his proposals, dismissing them as a “distraction.”
Rick Fitzgerald, a spokesman for the University of Michigan, declined to comment.
In a letter on Monday to the Commission on Presidential Debates, Jen O’Malley Dillon, Mr. Biden’s campaign manager, said that he was committed to debating Mr. Trump on Sept. 29, Oct. 15, and Oct. 22, and that his yet-to-be-selected running mate would take part in the vice-presidential debate scheduled for Oct. 7.
“Our position is straightforward and clear: Joe Biden will accept the Commission’s debates, on the Commission’s dates, under the Commission’s established format and the Commission’s independent choice of moderators,” Ms. O’Malley Dillon said in the letter, which was obtained by The New York Times. “Donald Trump and Mike Pence should do the same.”“Our position is straightforward and clear: Joe Biden will accept the Commission’s debates, on the Commission’s dates, under the Commission’s established format and the Commission’s independent choice of moderators,” Ms. O’Malley Dillon said in the letter, which was obtained by The New York Times. “Donald Trump and Mike Pence should do the same.”
“Any ‘debate proposals’ in lieu of that are just an effort to change the subject, avoid debates, or create a distracting ‘debate about debates,’” she added.“Any ‘debate proposals’ in lieu of that are just an effort to change the subject, avoid debates, or create a distracting ‘debate about debates,’” she added.
The details of the letter were first reported by The Washington Post.The details of the letter were first reported by The Washington Post.
The letter came four days after The Times reported that top aides to Mr. Trump had held an online meeting with officials overseeing the debates, in which they pushed for a fourth debate between Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden and argued that the events should take place sooner than planned in order to accommodate voters wishing to cast their ballots early. (Mr. Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly and falsely claimed that mail-in voting is rife with fraud.)The letter came four days after The Times reported that top aides to Mr. Trump had held an online meeting with officials overseeing the debates, in which they pushed for a fourth debate between Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden and argued that the events should take place sooner than planned in order to accommodate voters wishing to cast their ballots early. (Mr. Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly and falsely claimed that mail-in voting is rife with fraud.)
Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, was in the meeting and also proposed a system allowing both campaigns to recommend a set number of moderators and then strike some of them from their opponent’s lists until an agreement was reached.Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, was in the meeting and also proposed a system allowing both campaigns to recommend a set number of moderators and then strike some of them from their opponent’s lists until an agreement was reached.
In her letter on Monday, Ms. O’Malley Dillon noted that the Trump campaign’s position was a shift from months earlier, when the president’s advisers were discussing whether Mr. Trump would take part in debates sponsored by the commission at all. “The Trump position seems to be saying that he will debate if he can pick the moderators,” she wrote. In her letter, Ms. O’Malley Dillon noted that the Trump campaign’s position was a shift from months earlier, when the president’s advisers were discussing whether Mr. Trump would take part in debates sponsored by the commission at all. “The Trump position seems to be saying that he will debate if he can pick the moderators,” she wrote.
The commission, which has produced the general election debates since the 1988 campaign, typically spends months negotiating the details with representatives for the candidates. The group did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. The commission, which has produced the general election debates since the 1988 campaign, typically spends months negotiating the details with representatives for the candidates. The group did not respond to a request for comment.
The Trump campaign’s proposal for an extra debate came as a wave of recent polls showed the president trailing Mr. Biden both nationally and in key swing states, suggesting that Mr. Trump’s advisers viewed the debates as a possible turnaround opportunity.The Trump campaign’s proposal for an extra debate came as a wave of recent polls showed the president trailing Mr. Biden both nationally and in key swing states, suggesting that Mr. Trump’s advisers viewed the debates as a possible turnaround opportunity.
“An earlier and longer debate schedule is necessary so Americans can see the clear difference between President Trump’s vibrant leadership and Biden’s confused meandering,” said Tim Murtaugh, a Trump campaign spokesman.“An earlier and longer debate schedule is necessary so Americans can see the clear difference between President Trump’s vibrant leadership and Biden’s confused meandering,” said Tim Murtaugh, a Trump campaign spokesman.
Ms. O’Malley Dillon said in her letter that even if the coronavirus remained prevalent in the months ahead, she hoped the commission would adopt a town-hall-style format for the second presidential debate — as has been customary in recent years — in which voters would be able to ask questions of the candidates directly.Ms. O’Malley Dillon said in her letter that even if the coronavirus remained prevalent in the months ahead, she hoped the commission would adopt a town-hall-style format for the second presidential debate — as has been customary in recent years — in which voters would be able to ask questions of the candidates directly.
“We know that voters have many, many questions for the president,” she wrote.“We know that voters have many, many questions for the president,” she wrote.
Jonathan Martin contributed reporting.