President Trump on Monday ripped the Commission on Presidential Debates, which will oversee all debates in the 2020 presidential election.
In a trio of posts on Twitter, Trump said he hadn’t yet decided if he would participate in the commission’s debates.
“I look very much forward to debating whoever the lucky person is who stumbles across the finish line in the little watched Do Nothing Democrat Debates. My record is so good on the Economy and all else, including debating, that perhaps I would consider more than 3 debates,” Trump wrote in his first post.
“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. As President, the debates are up … to me, and there are many options, including doing them directly & avoiding the nasty politics of this very biased Commission. I will make a decision at an appropriate time but in the meantime, the Commission on Presidential Debates is NOT authorized to speak for me (or R’s)!” he wrote in the next two.
I look very much forward to debating whoever the lucky person is who stumbles across the finish line in the little watched Do Nothing Democrat Debates. My record is so good on the Economy and all else, including debating, that perhaps I would consider more than 3 debates…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 16, 2019
….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. As President, the debates are up…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 16, 2019
….to me, and there are many options, including doing them directly & avoiding the nasty politics of this very biased Commission. I will make a decision at an appropriate time but in the meantime, the Commission on Presidential Debates is NOT authorized to speak for me (or R’s)!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 16, 2019
Trump’s comments came days after The New York Times reported that the president and his advisers have discussed possibly skipping the general election debates next year because they don’t trust the commission to pick fair moderators.
The Commission has announced debates will take place at the University of Notre Dame on Sept. 29, at 2020 at the University of Michigan on Oct. 15 and at Belmont University on Oct. 22.
The Commission defended itself after Trump’s comments.
“The televised general election debates are an important part of our democratic process,” the commission said. “Since 1988, the Commission on Presidential Debates has conducted 30 general election presidential and vice presidential debates. Our record is one of fairness, balance and non-partisanship.”
