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Social media lit up Wednesday morning when Biden finally gave a clear indication that he would debate President Trump.
The first debate will take place on June 27 and be hosted by CNN, according to the Associated Press (AP). The second will occur in September before early voting begins.
On Wednesday, Biden’s campaign notified the Commission on Presidential Debates that it opposed the dates of its scheduled debates, as they occur after some Americans have already begun early voting, according to the AP. President Trump’s campaign previously objected to the dates for the same reason.
Biden’s decision to withdraw from the commission’s scheduled debates comes nearly two years after the Republican National Committee (RNC) announced its withdrawal.
Several organizational details have yet to be decided, as both campaigns have expressed opposite opinions on various aspects of the debates. President Trump suggested “more than two debates and, for excitement purposes, a very large venue.”
In its letter to the debate commission, Biden’s campaign opposed having a live audience. For the June 27 debate, CNN announced that it would take place in Atlanta and made clear that “no audience will be present,” according to the AP.
The outlet also wrote that Biden’s campaign was also being picky about which broadcast organizations could host the debates. The letter to the commission suggested restricting the opportunity to 2016 primary debate venues “in which Donald Trump participated,” and 2020 venues that then-candidate Biden “participated – so neither campaign can assert that the sponsoring organization is obviously unacceptable: if both candidates have previously debated on their airwaves, then neither could object to such venue.”
Just hours after the first debate was confirmed, both candidates agreed to a September 10 debate hosted by ABC News.