President Joe Biden on Wednesday rejected the fall schedule proposed by the Commission on Presidential Debates, imperiling Virginia State University’s chance to host a presidential debate in October.
Instead, former President Donald Trump accepted Biden’s call for two debates in June and September. CNN reported Wednesday that both campaigns have accepted its invitation to debate June 27. ABC News reported that Biden and Trump agreed to hold a second debate Sept. 10 at its studios.
The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates in November announced that it had chosen VSU for the site of the second presidential debate, on Oct. 1. The school in Ettrick, founded in 1882 as the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute, said it would be the first historically Black college or university to host a general election presidential debate.
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“Virginia State University is disappointed to hear media reports suggesting that the U.S. presidential candidates may not participate in the scheduled October 1, 2024, debate at VSU,” said Gwen Williams Dandridge, the university’s assistant vice president for communications.
“A presidential debate at VSU is a huge win, not only for our students and campus community but for the greater community in general,” she added.
Dandridge said VSU will continue to work closely with the Commission on Presidential Debates and other stakeholders to assess matters.
State Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, a VSU grad, said: “It is unimaginable that at a time when the constituency of an HBCU like Virginia State University needs to hear from President Biden the most — participation in their fall debate has been canceled.”
Aird added: “This is extremely disappointing, and an alternate engagement should be arranged.”
Biden announced Wednesday that he would not take part in the commission’s three fall debates. He instead proposed two debates with Trump — in June and September.
Biden said in a video Wednesday: “Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then he hasn’t shown up to debate. Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal. I’ll even do it twice. First, pick the dates, Donald.”
Referring to Trump’s court schedule, Biden said: “I hear you’re free on Wednesdays.”
Trump, who did not debate rivals in the GOP primaries, posted on Truth Social: “I am Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times in June and September,” adding that he wants additional debates.
Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Virginia Democrats, urged Biden and Trump to proceed with the debate at VSU.
“Now that Biden and Trump are discussing debates, one thing is clear,” Kaine posted on X. “The first ever Presidential debate at an HBCU, Virginia State University, should go forward as planned.”
Now that Biden and Trump are discussing debates, one thing is clear. The first ever Presidential debate at an HBCU, Virginia State University, should go forward as planned.
— Tim Kaine (@timkaine) May 15, 2024
Warner posted: “Virginia State made history as the first HBCU to ever be selected to hold a presidential debate. Biden and Trump should stick to the plan and head to Virginia for a debate.”
Virginia State made history as the first HBCU to ever be selected to hold a presidential debate. Biden and Trump should stick to the plan and head to Virginia for a debate.
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) May 15, 2024
In a letter Wednesday to the Commission on Presidential Debates, Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said the panel’s proposed fall debates are outmoded and would come after tens of millions of Americans already have voted.
The Biden camp also asserted that “the Commission’s model of building huge spectacles with large audiences at great expense simply isn’t necessary or conducive to good debates.”
Dillon said such debates are simply “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.”
Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 15, 2024
Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again.
Well, make my day, pal. pic.twitter.com/AkPmvs2q4u
Third, the Biden campaign asserted that the commission lays out rules for its debates, but that “it was unwilling or unable to enforce the rules in the 2020 debates.”
Dillon said the first debate should be in late June, after Trump’s New York trial is likely to be over and after Biden returns from the G7 summit. She said the second debate should be in early September at the start of the fall.
CNN said the June 27 debate would be in its Atlanta studio, without an audience.
In a statement, the debates commission noted it had been “established in 1987 specifically to ensure that such debates reliably take place and reach the widest television, radio and streaming audience. Our 2024 sites, all locations of higher learning, are prepared to host debates on dates chosen to accommodate early voters. We will continue to be ready to execute this plan.”
VSU has been planning to hold the Oct. 1 debate in the school’s Multi-Purpose Center, which hosts athletic events, commencements, concerts, trade shows and other events. The school says the site has a capacity to seat more than 6,000 guests.