![Trump and Biden on a burgundy background](https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/styles/crop_900x480/s3/static/D8Image/2024/05/17/trump_biden_debate.jpg?itok=ZYea75lD)
Research/Study
Right-wing media claimed Biden would never debate Trump. Now there are two debates scheduled.
After Biden said he would debate Trump, right-wing media figures said they would be “shocked” if Biden followed through and claimed the president’s “puppeteers” would never let that happen
Published
After President Joe Biden expressed interest in debating presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 election, right-wing media claimed Biden is running another “basement campaign” and his “puppeteers” would never allow any debates because it would be the “kiss of death” to the president's campaign. Those claims have followed years of right-wing and mainstream media fixating on the president’s age and mental acuity.
On May 15, Biden announced he had accepted an invitation to a CNN debate, and within hours, Biden and Trump mutually agreed to two debates, one each on CNN and ABC.