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. |
Flash floods and cold lava flow hit Indonesia’s Sumatra island, killing at least 15 peopleTerrifying moment woman comes face to face with a mountain lion in her backyardA police officer was killed in PakistanConnecticut Democrats unanimously nominate U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy for a third termConnecticut Democrats unanimously nominate U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy for a third termMessi plays through a scare, Inter Miami rallies past Montreal 3Woman, 36, is charged with murder after 41Meghan delights locals as she poses for selfies on 'quasiSchools turn to artificial intelligence to spot guns as companies press for state fundsMissed Friday's Northern Lights? The best cities in the US to see them after 'extreme' solar storm