Meanwhile the Republican candidate is facing a hush money trial with 34 felonies in a court in New York City.
June 27th and September 10th: these are the two dates in which the current President, Joe Biden, and the former President, Donald Trump, will debate each other on CNN and ABC News, ahead of the US Election rematch scheduled for this coming November 5th. The much earlier face-to-face matches are clearly an avoidance of the old tradition organized by a bipartisan Commission on Presidential debates of three meetings during the fall.
The first debate on CNN (the earliest on a presidential campaign in history) will be moderated by anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, will be held in Atlanta and will not have any live audience. The second debate, which will air on ABC News, will be hosted by David Muir and Linsay Davis.
Former President Trump, who leads Biden in five swing states, said he was “ready and willing” to face his rival and he even suggested two more debates. “Additional dates will allow voters to have maximum exposure to the records and future visions of each candidate,” it is explained in a memo to President Biden by Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles with the Trump campaign.
“Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020,” said President Biden in a video message on X. “Since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate. Now he is acting like he wants to debate more again. Well, make my day, pal”.
During an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, former president Trump said he would like the debates to be at least two hours long and with a stand-up podium without sitting. On the other hand, Biden campaign underlined that the microphones of both candidates should be muted when they are not recognized to speak.
The Republican candidate had also agreed to a third debate on Fox News on October 2nd. But, so far, there hasn’t been any response from the opposite rival. The first debate will arrive after the conclusion of Trump’s criminal hush money trial in New York. It has been the first criminal trial in history for an American former or current president. The candidate has 34 felonies against him. The Republican candidate is being accused of falsifying business records in connection with a $130,000 payment he made to the porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign.
Trump could be running the political race as a convicted felon or not. This is in the hands of the jury that has to reach a unanimous verdict on each count. But, guilty or not, according to polls, the jury conclusion will not affect voters decisions. The poll, done by PBS NewsHour, NPR, and Marist poll, shows that two in three registered voters say a guilty verdict will have no effect on whom they are planning to vote for: 65% of voters said there will be no difference whatsoever.
Not only that: it looks like the trial has gone unnoticed by many Americans as 55% of Americans, according to a May 1st poll done by PBS NewsHour, NPR, and Marist Poll, they were paiyng little to no attention to it.