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. |
Production of oil, natural gas hits record high in NovemberQuad summit: Ditch trade bans and we'll talk, Albanese tells ChinaChina news: China to increase nuclear warheads to 1500, Pentagon warnsIn Ireland, pubs now offer more than just a pintPetrobras, investors discuss recovery of Brazilian refinery in BahiaIn Ireland, pubs now offer more than just a pintClosure of HK's Music Zone leaves a hole in local indie sceneIsraeli strikes kill at least 29 Gazans awaiting aid, say Palestinian officialsTrump suffers pair of setbacks as judges reject calls to dismiss chargesYan Chenglong: Chinese chess champ dethroned after defecating and sex toy cheat claims