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.
Ethnic groups in China's Xinjiang mainly use 10 languages
20th Shambhala Tourism Festival kicks off in Gansu
Homegrown chatbot throws hat in AI ring
Siblings trying to make US water polo teams for Paris Olympics
Silk Road film festival opens in NW China
Chinese companies set new digging record in tunnelling projects in Nepal
Enlighten Festival held in Canberra, Australia
The fightback begins: Boss of London's Queen Mary University tells pro
China makes continuous efforts to protect intangible cultural heritage
Georgia Republicans choose Amy Kremer, organizer of pro
Hindu devotees celebrate Durga Puja festival in Dhaka