PHOENIX (AP) — The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which has planned presidential faceoffs in every election since 1988, has an uncertain future after President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump struck an agreement to meet on their own. The Biden and Trump campaigns announced a deal Wednesday to meet for debates in June on CNN and September on ABC. Just a day earlier, Frank Fahrenkopf, chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates, had sounded optimistic that the candidates would eventually come around to accepting the commission’s debates. “There’s no way you can force anyone to debate,” Fahrenkopf said in a virtual meeting of supporters of No Labels, which has continued as an advocacy group after it abandoned plans for a third-party presidential ticket. But he noted candidates have repeatedly toyed with skipping debates or finding alternatives before eventually showing up, though one was canceled in 2020 when Trump refused to appear virtually after he contracted COVID-19. |
Man, woman rescued after getting trapped for 10 hours at Australia's Jenolan CavesVictorian miner killed in Ballarat Gold Mine rockfall as investigation continuesBoeing CEO Dave Calhoun to step down in shakeup amid safety crisisCoronavirus toll reaches 490 in China3D printed eggs used in fairy tern rescue programmeCoronavirus: Experts say the flu is more 'deadly'Oscar winner David Seidler dies while flyPort Hills: Fire crews sent to investigate after reports of smokeNZ missing out, lawyers say as visas for wealthy investors plummetTruancy: Why it matters, what the law says and what is being done about it