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. |
Another ankle injury rules Dortmund forward Haller out of Champions League match against AtléticoRow erupts over bizarre claim William Shakespeare's works could have been written by a WOMANTourists to Yunnan can wake up and smell the coffeeA's rally from 5 runs down, beat Nats 7Chinese judoka Guo collects bronze on opening day of Hangzhou AsiadHighlights of beach volleyball match at 19th Asian GamesHangzhou ready to host smart Asian GamesInt'l plum blossom festival kicks off in NanjingShutterbug in northeast China records growing winter sport popularityEthnic performance nourishes soul, life in southwest China