House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., triggered a firestorm of criticism from GOP lawmakers Wednesday after calling debates between Joe Biden and President Donald Trump “an exercise in skulduggery.”
House minority leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Pelosi is just worried Biden will get thumped.
“President Trump's passion, energy, and debate skills are unmatched. It's no surprise that Pelosi wants to keep Biden in the basement,” he claimed.
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., the House minority whip, repeated GOP charges that Biden is hiding from public scrutiny.
“WOW. THERE IT IS. → Nancy Pelosi just said ‘I don't think that there should be any debates,” Scalise tweeted.
“Even top Democrats know @realDonaldTrump would absolutely crush Joe Biden on a debate stage. So they're desperate to keep him hidden in his basement until the election. Pathetic.”
Biden, meanwhile, is fine with debating — telling Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC Thursday he intends to go toe-to-toe with Trump. His campaign has agreed to participate in three debates ahead of Election Day.
“I’m going to debate him,” he insisted, adding: “I’m gonna be a fact-checker.”
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