As RFK attempts to qualify, Biden and Trump agree to debates in June and September

With their agreement to participate in two presidential TV debates in June and September, Joe Biden and Donald Trump are preparing for intense political contests that have the potential to significantly impact the White House election.

The first discussion will take place in Georgia, a crucial swing state, on June 27 on CNN.

On September 10, ABC will present the second one.

The declaration was made subsequent to Democratic President Biden laying out his parameters for challenging his Republican predecessor in the run-up to November's election.

The CNN debate in June in Atlanta, which will be emceed by anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, is expected to be empty. It is slated for an election year, which is extremely early.

The second discussion will be moderated by ABC's anchors, David Muir and Linsey Davis, but the network has not yet announced the venue.

As an independent candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that the two front-runners were conspiring to keep him out of the race.

Subsequently on Wednesday, however, he said on X—the former Twitter—that he would fulfill the prerequisites to be eligible for the CNN discussion.

On his social media network Truth Social, Mr. Trump announced that he has accepted Fox News' offer to compete in a third round on October 2. Jen O'Malley Dillon, the chairperson of Mr. Biden's campaign, said that the president had "made his terms clear for two one-on-one debates, as well as Donald Trump accepted those terms".

Two televised debates in June and September were suggested by Mr. Biden. His opponent promptly agreed and then proposed that they have a monthly debate.

"We believe there should be more than just a couple of chances for the American people to hear more about the candidates themselves," the campaign for Donald Trump said.

On social media, the two candidates have exchanged jabs. Mr. Trump said, "Just tell me when." Let's get ready to thrash around!"

In contrast to Mr. Trump's assertion that his opponent was the "worst debater" who "can't put two sentences together," Mr. Biden remarked that Mr. Trump was "free on Wednesdays," alluding to his criminal trial in New York.

How these discussions defy convention

The two discussions that Mr. Biden has proposed go against numerous long-standing customs.

It avoids the Presidential Debate Commission, which has established dates and places for debates in the fall and has fixed timings since 1988. Usually, there are three of these TV conflicts.

Another departure from convention, Mr. Biden's campaign wants the two debates to be held without a live audience.

A major news network moderator would provide questions to the candidates in turn, with the microphone of the non-speaking contender turned off.

Loud, partisan gatherings, according to Ms. Dillon, are not "conducive to good debates".

However, Mr. Trump demanded sizable crowds, claiming that "it's just more exciting" in front of them.

In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, he said that the two competitors should have to stand for the whole two hours of the debates.

The two candidates' first 2020 forum was tainted by many interruptions and cross-talk. The second was canceled because Mr. Trump discovered the virus and declined to participate via video connection.

Is RFK eligible?

According to CNN's standards, candidates must appear on enough state ballots to get the necessary 270 electoral votes needed to win the US presidential election. They also need to receive at least 15% of the vote in four different official polls, which is a high standard for a candidate from a third party like Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

According to Mr. Kennedy's team, he is now legally eligible to be on the ballot in six states and has gathered enough signatures to be included in eight more. He is now just 185 states away from the electoral threshold thanks to the combination of all those states.

While he is polling better than any third-party candidate since Ross Perot in 1996, his most recent polling numbers nevertheless seem to be somewhat below the CNN criteria.

CNN has not yet responded to his qualifying allegations.

Mr. Kennedy said earlier on Wednesday that his opponents were attempting to keep him out "because they are afraid I would win." He has said in the past that the two major parties are unfairly advantaged in the White House election process.

When a reporter asked Mr. Biden on Wednesday whether he wanted to debate the independent candidate, he chuckled.

Why is this conversation starting so early?

Mr. Biden's plan would shift the presidential debates earlier in the campaign calendar, which would lessen the potential influence of the TV debates on the result of the November election and give both candidates more time to bounce back from any subpar showings.

A number of previous presidents in office, such as Mr. Trump, Mr. Obama, Mr. Bush, and Mr. Reagan, performed poorly in their first general election debates before steadily improving in later ones.

The September debate would occur at least one month before to election day, while the June debate would occur before both the Democratic and Republican national conventions. According to surveys, a lot of Americans start following the US presidential campaign news only in the fall.

In addition, Mr. Biden suggested holding a vice-presidential debate in July after the Republican convention in July, which would determine Mr. Trump's running mate nomination.

The presidential debates during election years are usually shown on many US networks. Viewers of the first 2020 debate between Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden were at least 73 million.

In the video that his team published announcing the debate request, Mr. Biden pointed out that Mr. Trump had failed to take part in any Republican primary debates this year.

This year, Mr. Biden had no resistance in his quest for the nomination, and there were no primary debates hosted by the Democratic party.