
<p>While most presidential debates are anticipated – more or less a foregone conclusion – a 2024 face-off has been in doubt.</p>



<p>Many pundits have predicted that a head-to-head debate between President Biden and President Trump will not take place. ; Those prognostications appear to be based on hints from Biden operatives that the President will not share the debate stage with Trump. ; Their reasoning is that Trump will not behave himself – and they do not wish to provide him with an opportunity to expound. ; They claim that such a debate will devolve into a political circus.</p>



<p>Conversely, many pundits believe the real reason Biden will not agree to a debate is that he may not come off well. ; He would be outside of the protective bubble that has limited his appearances to scripted and controlled messaging. ; They believe the risk of a gaffe or senior moment is too high.</p>



<p>The general assumption that Biden would not engage in debate with Trump was set back during an appearance on the Howard Stern Show. ; The host said to Biden, “I don’t know if you’re going to debate your opponent.” ; To which Biden responded, “I am somewhere. ; I don’t know when. ; I’m happy to debate him.”</p>



<p>The reply comes from the man himself. ; It was unequivocal. ; He WILL debate Trump – just a matter of when and where. ; A presidential debate is “to be.” ; Or is it?</p>



<p>Uncertainty remains for several reasons. ; This was a bold announcement, and yet there was not a lot of confirmation by Biden handlers and spokespersons. ; The various responses could be summed up with “Yes, Biden definitely wants to debate Trump, but &#8230;” ; ; It is that “but” that casts a shadow of doubt.</p>



<p>Another thing that casts doubts on Biden’s statement is that there has been no planning for such a debate. ; By now negotiating teams should have been appointed to consider the venues and the format. ; Negotiating a presidential debate is not an easy or quick process.</p>



<p>Was Biden’s response to Stern a strategic announcement or was it another gaffe – Biden winging it on his own when not looking at his ubiquitous talking-point cheat sheets? ;</p>



<p>That would not be surprising. ; Biden has a habit of making very strong or definitive statements only to backslide. ; (Does Ukraine, Israel and border security come to mind?) ; We have seen the White House occasionally “clarify” such statements – essentially announcing that Biden did not mean what he said. (Remember Biden saying that Putin could not be allowed to stay in power, and the White House served up a correction?)</p>



<p>No Biden or campaign spokesperson has given up on the original argument that Biden should not – and will not – give Trump a platform to &#8230; shall we say &#8230; do his thing,</p>



<p>If the Biden/Trump debate is “not to be,” it will likely be scuttled in some negotiations. ; The Biden team will claim that they simply could not agree on the specifics &#8212; blaming Trump for the impasse, of course.</p>



<p>The fact that the media did not give Biden’s important newsworthy announcement more coverage and follow-up suggests that the folks in the Fourth Estate are not taking Biden&#8217;s stated willingness to debate seriously. ; They are not convinced – nor am I.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Presidential debate: To be or not to be
