NEW YORK –
US President Joe Biden said Friday that he is willing to debate his presumptive Republican opponent, Donald Trump, later this fall, his most definitive comment yet on the issue.
Trump said he was ready, although he questioned Biden’s will.
Biden’s comment came during an interview with Sirius XM radio host Howard Stern, who asked him if he would participate in debates against Trump.
“I’m somewhere. “I don’t know when,” Biden said. “But I’m happy to debate him.”
Until now, Biden’s re-election campaign had refused to commit to participating in the debates, a hallmark of every presidential general election campaign since 1976.
Biden himself had also been vague, saying in March that debating Trump “depends on his behavior.” The two men debated twice during the 2020 general election, a campaign year significantly limited by COVID-19 restrictions, and Biden was noticeably irritated by Trump’s antics in that year’s chaotic first debate.
“Will you shut up?” Biden told Trump at one point during the first debate.
Trump campaign officials have said for some time that the former president is prepared to debate Biden at any time, and Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, quickly responded to Biden’s comments on the social media site X: “Okay, let’s get it ready!”
Later on Friday, Trump reacted to Biden’s new public willingness to debate by saying that “everyone knows he doesn’t really mean it,” but suggested next Monday night, Tuesday night or Wednesday in the evening, when Trump will campaign in Michigan. The former president suggests soirées because he will otherwise attend the proceedings of his secret money criminal trial in New York.
Trump is required to be in court every day except Wednesdays. In a statement on his own social media platform, Trump also challenged Biden to debate in the Manhattan courthouse on Friday night, as both men were in New York at the same time. Biden has since returned to Washington.
However, Friday is also Melania Trump’s birthday, and the former president had already said earlier that day that he would fly back to Florida to spend the day with his wife once his trial was over.
As Trump left the courthouse in New York on Friday afternoon, he repeated his challenge and said, “We are ready. Just tell me where. I’ll do it at the White House. “Actually, that would be very comfortable.”
Trump did not participate in any of the Republican primary debates this cycle.
The Commission on Presidential Debates has already announced the dates and locations for the three general election debates between the presidential candidates: September 16 in San Marcos, Texas; October 1 in Petersburg, Virginia; and on October 9 in Salt Lake City. The only vice presidential debate is scheduled for September 25 in Easton, Pennsylvania.
A dozen news organizations, including The Associated Press, wrote to the Biden and Trump campaigns earlier this month to urge both candidates to participate in the debates.
Biden participates in relatively fewer press interviews than his predecessors, and his aides tend to choose outlets and outlets outside the traditional press corps that covers the president in Washington. His interview with Stern on Friday, which lasted more than an hour, took on a casual, introspective tone and covered topics including Biden’s upbringing, his family and his favorite president (Thomas Jefferson, Biden said).
The interview also occurred a day after The New York Times issued a statement criticizing Biden for avoiding formal interviews and holding fewer press conferences than his predecessors. The newspaper said its editor, AG Sulzberger, has urged senior Biden officials to agree to presidential interviews not only with the Times but with other media outlets.
Still, the timing of Stern’s interview was a coincidence; A person familiar with the plans said the White House has been working with the Sirius XM host for weeks to arrange the conversation. The person was granted anonymity to discuss internal planning processes.
Stern, less the “shock jock” of yesteryear, still has a loyal audience. And he has become known for his conversational interviewing skills. He can turn conversations with celebrities into insightful discussions, often asking things others might fear, but not in a confrontational way.
Associated Press writers David Bauder and Michelle Price contributed to this report. Kim reported from Washington.