Just weeks after an unusually energetic and articulate Joe Biden challenged Donald Trump to a debate (after Trump had challenged Biden 'anytime, anywhere' for weeks), Biden may already be getting cold feet. A new report from the New York Post cites sources from CNN--which is set to host the first debate--as saying Team Biden is looking for an out. Trump and Biden are scheduled for two debates, June 27 and September 10, with Team Biden already making demands like no live audience, no moderators, and the ability to mute candidates' microphones.
With Biden continually struggling to speak coherently and get through brief public events without major gaffes, his campaign is reportedly looking for excuses, like a possible Trump criminal conviction, to back out of the debates. "I think the Biden team used the presentation of a potential debate and the acceptance of the debate as a way to buy time and to really quiet the concerns (about Biden not debating)," says Vlad Davidiuk, GOP political strategist. "I think they know if they had declined to hold debates, it would have raised significantly more concern...so this was a way to buy time."
Now, with the first debate less than a month away, the status of that debate is apparently up for debate. "I think if there was some way for Biden and his team to get out of the debates, they're going to take that opportunity," says Davidiuk. "It could be some crisis that rises up, some emergency that demands his attention, it could be some excuse saying Trump's been convicted of this offense, or Trump said something that's unforgivable, and we won't take the stage with somebody like that."
"Whatever pretense it could be, I think they are going to try to do everything they can to avoid these debates."