PHOENIX (AP) — The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which has planned presidential faceoffs in every election since 1988, has an uncertain future after President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump struck an agreement to meet on their own.
The Biden and Trump campaigns announced a deal Wednesday to meet for debates in June on CNN and September on ABC. Just a day earlier, Frank Fahrenkopf, chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates, had sounded optimistic that the candidates would eventually come around to accepting the commission’s debates.
“There’s no way you can force anyone to debate,” Fahrenkopf said in a virtual meeting of supporters of No Labels, which has continued as an advocacy group after it abandoned plans for a third-party presidential ticket. But he noted candidates have repeatedly toyed with skipping debates or finding alternatives before eventually showing up, though one was canceled in 2020 when Trump refused to appear virtually after he contracted COVID-19.
Why US Catholics are planning pilgrimages in communities across the nation
Orioles send former No. 1 pick Jackson Holliday back to minors after he hit .059 in 10 MLB games
Newgarden's next challenge is to repair his reputation around IndyCar after disqualification
The long wait for the 1st running back to be drafted ends with Jonathan Brooks going 46th
Mystery artist who erected signs comparing pothole
2024 NFL Draft: From Caleb Williams' gorgeous long
Closing prices for crude oil, gold and other commodities
Four months after being fired by Atlanta, Arthur Smith is hitting the reset button in Pittsburgh
Hall of Fame outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. to lead Indianapolis 500 field in Corvette pace car
UN warns Sudan paramilitary forces are encircling a capital in western Darfur, urges against attack