When Democrat Joe Biden was seeking a second presidential term in 2024, his senior advisers pushed him to do an early debate with then-GOP challenger former President Donald Trump to help his reelection chances, according to a memo released Monday.
“By holding the first debate in the spring, YOU will be able to reach the widest audience possible, before we are deep in the summer months with the conventions, Olympics and family vacations taking precedence,” reads the April 15, 2024, memo from Biden’s senior advisers reads.
“In addition, the earlier YOU are able to debate the better, so that the American people can see YOU standing next to Trump and showing the strength of YOUR leadership, compared to Trump’s weakness and chaos.”
The memo was published via Politico Playbook and obtained by journalists Josh Dawsey of The Wall Street Journal, Tyler Pager of The New York Times, and Isaac Arnsdorf of The Washington Post for their book, “2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,” which will be released Tuesday.
The Commission on Presidential Debates announced in November 2023 the presidential debate schedule plan, which originally had the debates set for Sept. 16, Oct. 1, and Oct. 9, the memo noted. These dates were “after many of the battleground states have already begun their early voting process and voter registration deadlines have passed,” according to the advisers, who argued that would be “too late.”
The memo recommended that the first debate be held in June, instead.
Biden and Trump faced off at the CNN debate on June 27, and the Democratic presidential candidate’s poor performance led to him dropping out of the race and endorsing his running mate, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, to take his place.
