While Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump again this week amped up his call for an immediate debate with President Joe Biden, one expert said the incumbent has no "incentive" to commit at this time and likely will use "leverage" to shape favorable terms for a debate.
Trump last week challenged Biden to a debate "any time, anywhere, any place" and did so again this week, calling for an immediate "full scale debate between Crooked Joe and Honest Don" in a Tuesday post on Truth Social.
However, with three presidential debates are scheduled for the fall, one expert said Biden has no incentive to commit to anything in March.
"I think he wants to use … the kind of leverage he has to get the best deal possible, so I don't know that he has an incentive to commit right now, but eventually I would think he is likely (to participate)," University of Michigan Director of Debate Aaron Kall told The Hill.
A Republican strategist told The Hill that Trump's call for an immediate debate seems to indicate the challenger feels he has a decided advantage in a live debate. And with the sundry gaffes Biden has uttered the past few weeks, Trump, 77, sees an opportunity to contrast himself as more "robust" than Biden, 81, she said.
"The Trump team is coming off a primary campaign where he didn't need to debate. With his strong polling right now, they have to wonder if it's worth doing," Republican strategist Nicole Schlinger told The Hill.
Biden said last week that debating Trump "depends on his behavior," with his campaign saying Trump's calls for immediate debates shows he is "thirsty for attention."
The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPB) has scheduled the first presidential debate, if there is one, for Sept. 16 at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.
"We just have to see where it goes," CBP co-chair and former Republican National Committee chair Frank Fahrenkopf told The Hill.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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