A joint statement was released by FOX News Media and eleven other national news organizations urging the presumptive Democratic and Republican presidential nominees to commit to general election debates prior to the 2024 election. General election debates have played a vital role in American democracy for the past 50 years and have been organized by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates since 1988. The news organizations emphasized the importance of candidates debating side by side before the American people, highlighting the high stakes of the upcoming election.
The Commission on Presidential Debates has already announced dates and locations for three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate during the 2024 general election. The debates are scheduled to take place at various universities in Texas, Virginia, and Utah, while the vice presidential debate is set to occur at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. The debates will last 90 minutes each and be broadcast without commercial interruption. The announcement of the debate locations last year prompted calls for additional debates to take place earlier in the election cycle by former President Donald Trump’s campaign.
In response to the calls for earlier debates, the CPD co-chairs received a letter from Trump’s co-campaign managers expressing support for an earlier debate schedule due to the increasing trend of early voting observed in previous elections. Trump has expressed his willingness to debate President Biden at any time and place, emphasizing the importance of debates given the current state of the country. Biden’s campaign has not committed to the scheduled debates but has indicated a willingness to debate Trump at any time. While Biden has commented on Trump’s behavior affecting his decision to debate, his campaign has fired back at Trump’s invitation, stating that the president does not have to wait for a debate with Biden.
The joint statement from the news organizations also pointed out that the current election cycle is highly polarized, emphasizing the need for candidates to debate their visions for the future of the nation before the American people. They highlighted the tradition of general election debates and called for the presumptive nominees to publicly commit to participating in the debates organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates. The statement underscored the importance of debates in informing voters and providing a platform for candidates to compete on their ideas for the presidency.
The news organizations that signed the joint statement included ABC News, The Associated Press, CBS News, CNN, C-SPAN, NBCUniversal News Group, NewsNation Noticias Univision, NPR, PBS NewsHour, and USA TODAY, along with FOX News Media. The statement emphasized the historical significance of general election debates in American democracy and urged the presidential nominees to support and participate in the debates planned for the fall of 2024. With the election stakes being exceptionally high, the news organizations stressed that there is no substitute for candidates engaging in debates and presenting their platforms to the American people ahead of the upcoming election.
