Thursday’s presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will be the first since 1988 to not be sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD).The commission has been historically tasked with planning and producing every presidential debate, including choosing the site, selecting the moderators, establishing the rules and setting the dates. The decision to go around the bipartisan organization is a huge departure from tradition. It comes after both campaigns criticized some of CPD’s rules and the organization’s schedule.Trump’s contention with CPD goes back to his first presidential campaign in 2016. Trump blamed the commission for audio issues during one of his debates with Hillary Clinton, claiming CPD was biased against him.”The problem is that the so-called Commission on Presidential Debates is stacked with Trump Haters & Never Trumpers. 3 years ago they were forced to publicly apologize for modulating my microphone in the first debate against Crooked Hillary,” Trump posted on X, formerly Twitter, in 2019.In 2022, the Republican National Committee unanimously passed an amendment that prohibited GOP candidates from participating in debates produced by CPD, echoing Trump’s claims that the commission was unfair to the GOP.”Today, the RNC voted to withdraw from the biased CPD, and we are going to find newer, better debate platforms to ensure that future nominees are not forced to go through the biased CPD in order to make their case to the American people,” then-RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said.McDaniel also pointed to CPD’s debate schedule taking place too late in the year and its use of moderators who used to work for candidates as reasons for severing the relationship. Biden’s campaign agreed about the schedule, adding that past struggles to keep candidates from violating debate rules contributed to its dissatisfaction with the commission.“The Commission’s model of building huge spectacles with large audiences at great expense simply isn’t necessary or conducive to good debates,” Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon wrote. “The debates should be conducted for the benefit of the American voters, watching on television and at home — not as entertainment for an in-person audience with raucous or disruptive partisans and donors, who consume valuable debate time with noisy spectacles of approval or jeering.”In May, the two campaigns struck a deal to participate in two debates hosted by two news networks: CNN’s Thursday debate and ABC News’ Sept. 10 debate.On June 24, CPD terminated its contracts with the sites it had picked for its 2024 debate schedule. Adding, “CPD stands ready to sponsor 2024 debates should circumstances change.”CPD began hosting debates in 1988, succeeding the League of Women Voters, which sponsored presidential debates from 1976 to 1984.The omission of CPD from the 2024 debates puts the future of the nonprofit, bipartisan in doubt.
Thursday’s presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will be the first since 1988 to not be sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD).
The commission has been historically tasked with planning and producing every presidential debate, including choosing the site, selecting the moderators, establishing the rules and setting the dates.
The decision to go around the bipartisan organization is a huge departure from tradition. It comes after both campaigns criticized some of CPD’s rules and the organization’s schedule.
Trump’s contention with CPD goes back to his first presidential campaign in 2016. Trump blamed the commission for audio issues during one of his debates with Hillary Clinton, claiming CPD was biased against him.
“The problem is that the so-called Commission on Presidential Debates is stacked with Trump Haters & Never Trumpers. 3 years ago they were forced to publicly apologize for modulating my microphone in the first debate against Crooked Hillary,” Trump posted on X, formerly Twitter, in 2019.
In 2022, the Republican National Committee unanimously passed an amendment that prohibited GOP candidates from participating in debates produced by CPD, echoing Trump’s claims that the commission was unfair to the GOP.
“Today, the RNC voted to withdraw from the biased CPD, and we are going to find newer, better debate platforms to ensure that future nominees are not forced to go through the biased CPD in order to make their case to the American people,” then-RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said.
McDaniel also pointed to CPD’s debate schedule taking place too late in the year and its use of moderators who used to work for candidates as reasons for severing the relationship.
Biden’s campaign agreed about the schedule, adding that past struggles to keep candidates from violating debate rules contributed to its dissatisfaction with the commission.
“The Commission’s model of building huge spectacles with large audiences at great expense simply isn’t necessary or conducive to good debates,” Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon wrote. “The debates should be conducted for the benefit of the American voters, watching on television and at home — not as entertainment for an in-person audience with raucous or disruptive partisans and donors, who consume valuable debate time with noisy spectacles of approval or jeering.”
In May, the two campaigns struck a deal to participate in two debates hosted by two news networks: CNN’s Thursday debate and ABC News’ Sept. 10 debate.
On June 24, CPD terminated its contracts with the sites it had picked for its 2024 debate schedule. Adding, “CPD stands ready to sponsor 2024 debates should circumstances change.”
CPD began hosting debates in 1988, succeeding the League of Women Voters, which sponsored presidential debates from 1976 to 1984.
The omission of CPD from the 2024 debates puts the future of the nonprofit, bipartisan in doubt.
