The Republican National Committee (RNC) is standing with the Trump campaign in calling for much earlier debates against Democrat incumbent President Joe Biden.
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley and Co-Chairman Lara Trump released the statement after Trump campaign co-campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita sent a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates on Thursday, asking for the forthcoming debates to come sooner.
“The RNC has long pushed for reforms that foster truly free and fair debates,” they said in a joint statement:
Election calendars have become longer than ever before — and scheduling debates after millions of Americans have already cast their ballots does a grave disservice to voters who want to hear solutions to the economic, border, and crime crises created by Joe Biden.
“It’s no wonder that Biden wants to return to the basement and avoid accountability for his failures, but Americans deserve to see the contrast between his weaknesses and President Trump’s vision to Make America Great Again,” they added.
Their position further sends the message that the RNC and Trump campaign are on the same page or, as Lara Trump recently described it, a truly “bonded entity.”
In the original letter to the commission, Wiles and LaCivita said they were in “favor of these debates beginning much earlier,” according to Fox News Digital, which first obtained the letter.
They contend that the proposed 2024 calendar for the presidential debates comes too late in the election season, as many will have already cast their ballot.
“By the date of the first proposed debate, September 16, 2024, over 1 million Americans will have likely voted,” they wrote in the letter.
“By the date of the second proposed debate, October 1, 2024, the number of Americans who will have likely cast a ballot will be over 3 million, an increase of 225%,” they continued, ultimately estimating that “approximately 8.7 million Americans will have already voted” by the third debate on October 9.
In a video posted to social media, Trump said, “It’s time for crooked Joe Biden, the worst president in the history of the United States, and I to debate.”
“We have to talk about what he’s doing and where we’re going,” he added. “We owe it to our country. We owe it to all Americans — anytime, anywhere, any place.”
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Trump reiterated that point, assuring he would “fully accept any debate, anywhere, anytime, anyplace” against Biden, emphasizing, “the earlier the better.”
“I think it is important that we debate and the earlier the better because people have to find out what is going on with America,” Trump said. “We are no longer respected around the world. There are so many things that are happening.”
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