Biden and Trump set for televised debates amid election buildup

The first election debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is scheduled for June 27th on CNN, and the second on September 10th on ABC television, announced the former president on Wednesday. The Trump campaign also wants to organise two more debates in July and August.

"It is my great honour to accept the CNN Debate against Crooked Joe Biden, the WORST PRESIDENT in the History of the United States and a true Threat to Democracy, on June 27th," Trump announced on his social media platform TRUTH Social. He also mentioned accepting the proposal to organise a debate on September 10th on ABC News.

Trump responded this way to a public invitation from Biden via a video recording posted on social media.

"Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020, and since then, he hasn’t shown up to a debate," Biden said in a video posted online earlier in the day. "Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal. I’ll even do it twice."

The first debate is timed shortly after the expected completion of Trump's trial and Biden's return from the G7 summit in Italy. The second will occur before mail voting begins in the first states. However, President Biden insists that, unlike in previous years, the debates should not be organised by a specially appointed commission but directly by the television networks alongside both candidates' campaigns.

The Biden campaign believes previous debates were too focused on spectacle and wants them to happen without an audience and with the ability to turn off a candidate's microphone if they exceed their time limit. Conversely, the Trump campaign aims to organise the most giant spectacle possible at a big venue. They also proposed two additional dates, one in July and one in August, with a vice-presidential candidate debate slated for July.

The US presidential elections are scheduled for November 5th.