Donald Trump (left) and President Joe Biden during the final presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 22, 2020.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI | AFP | Getty Images
Donald Trump said Monday he wanted to debate President Joe Biden “immediately” — but the Democratic incumbent quickly dismissed that idea.
“I want to call for debates right away,” Trump said on “The Dan Bongino Show.”
“I want to debate him now because we should debate him,” said the former president, who is the Republican Party’s front-runner for the presidential nomination. “We should debate for the good of the country.”
Biden rejected the idea.
“Well, if I were him, I would want to debate me too,” Biden told reporters at a boba shop in Las Vegas when asked about Trump’s challenge.
“He has nothing else to do,” Biden added.
The exchange reflects both sides’ view that Trump and Biden are all but guaranteed to be their respective parties’ nominees, even with primary season still underway.
It also reflects her debate strategy so far this election cycle.
Trump skipped every Republican primary debate. And he continues to ignore calls from his main remaining challenger, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, for a personal showdown.
Biden also has not participated in debates with the few long-term Democratic candidates challenging him for the party’s nomination.
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Trump also criticized Biden in Monday’s interview with Bongino for refusing to be interviewed by the television network broadcasting the Super Bowl for the second consecutive day.
Biden participated in a Super Bowl interview in 2021 and 2022, continuing a tradition that other presidents have followed. But he skipped that interview last year and skipped it this year.
“He can’t do it because he can’t talk,” Trump said of Biden.
The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Trump’s comments.
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2024-02-05 21:59:31
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