Top aides to President Trump tried on Thursday to negotiate with the commission overseeing presidential debates to increase the number of times that Mr. Trump and former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. face off in the fall.
The Trump camp pushed for four debates, one more than is typically held in the general election, and argued that they should start earlier because there may be an increase in early voting as people struggle with fears of the coronavirus in crowded places, according to a person briefed on the meeting. Traditionally, the first debate is held in September, after the nominating conventions. Mr. Trump’s advisers want them to begin soon after Labor Day.
The online meeting featured Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer; his campaign manager, Brad Parscale; and another senior campaign official, Michael Glassner. They met with Frank Fahrenkopf, the co-founder and co-chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates, said the person briefed on the meeting, who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Mr. Giuliani, who advised the Trump campaign in 2016, also proposed that both campaigns get to recommend a set number of moderators, and that they each get to strike some of them from the other person’s list before they reach an agreement, the person said.
Mr. Giuliani did not respond to a message seeking comment.
In a statement, Mr. Parscale said: “We want fair debates. We want them sooner and we want a bigger schedule. We also don’t want them up against football games competing for viewers. As many Americans as possible need to see the stark differences between the accomplishments and leadership of President Trump and the failed record and sleepiness of Joe Biden.”
Kate Bedingfield, the deputy campaign manager for Mr. Biden, accused Mr. Trump of trying to “change the subject” now that he is down in the polls.
“But there’s a catch: He’ll only do it if he can pick the moderators,” she said. “We are not going to ride the roller coaster of the ever-changing Trump campaign position on debates, nor are we going to be distracted by his demands.”
She said the Biden campaign would follow the rules and guidance set up by the commission, “so long as Donald Trump does the same, and does not intimidate the commission into changes from past practices.”
The Trump campaign’s posture marks a departure from what the president’s advisers were discussing last year. Back then, as the Democratic primary season was intensifying, Mr. Trump’s advisers discussed whether the president would even take part in debates sponsored by the commission.
But since then, the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and a global recession, combined with the Trump administration’s failures responding to the virus, have changed Mr. Trump’s standing in the race.
In all recent national surveys and many state surveys, Mr. Trump trails Mr. Biden. A new national poll from Quinnipiac University on Thursday showed Mr. Biden with an advantage of eight percentage points, and a new Fox News national poll put Mr. Biden up by 12 points.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
