President Joe Biden said Friday he is prepared to debate his presumptive Republican opponent, Donald Trump, later this fall — his most pointed comment yet on the issue.
Trump said he was ready, although he doubted Biden's preparation.
Biden's comment came during an interview with Sirius XM radio host Howard Stern, who asked him if he would participate in debates against Trump.
"I'm somewhere. I don't know when," Biden said, "but I'm happy to discuss it."
Biden's re-election campaign has so far refused to commit to participating in the debates, a hallmark of every public presidential campaign since 1976.
Biden himself has also been ambiguous, saying in March that debating Trump "depends on his behavior." The two debated twice during the 2020 general election – a year of campaigning severely limited by coronavirus restrictions – and Biden was visibly upset by Trump's antics during that year's chaotic first debate.
“Are you going to shut up?” Biden said this to Trump at one point during the first debate.
Trump campaign officials have been saying for some time that the former president is ready to debate Biden at any time, and Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita quickly responded to Biden's comments on the social media site X: “Okay, let’s get set up.” Let's go ! »
Later Friday, Trump responded to Biden's new public willingness to debate by saying "everyone knows he doesn't really mean it," but suggested either next Monday night, Tuesday night or Wednesday night, when Trump will campaign in Michigan. The former president suggests the parties as he attends his secret criminal trial in New York.
Trump must be in court every day except Wednesday. In a statement on his social media platform, Trump also challenged Biden to a debate at a Manhattan courthouse on Friday evening, while both men were in New York at the same time. Biden has since returned to Washington.
However, Friday is also Melania Trump's birthday, and the former president had already said earlier in the day that he would return to Florida to spend the day with his wife once his trial is over.
Trump did not participate in any of the Republican primary debates this cycle.
The Commission on Presidential Debates has already announced the dates and locations for three general election debates between the presidential candidates: September 16 in San Marcos, Texas; October 1 in Petersburg, Virginia; and October 9 in Salt Lake City. The only vice presidential debate is scheduled for September 25 in Easton, Pennsylvania.
Dozens of news organizations, including the Associated Press, wrote to the Biden and Trump campaigns earlier this month urging both candidates to participate in the debates.
Biden participates in relatively fewer press interviews than his predecessors, and his aides tend to choose outlets and outlets outside of the traditional press that cover the president's news in Washington. His interview with Stern on Friday, which lasted more than an hour, took an informal, introspective tone and touched on topics such as Biden's upbringing, his family and his favorite president (Thomas Jefferson, Biden said).
The interview also came the day after The New York Times published a statement criticizing Biden for avoiding formal interviews and holding fewer news conferences than his predecessors. The newspaper says its publisher, AG Sulzberger, urged senior Biden aides to agree to a presidential interview not only with the Times but with other media outlets.
However, the timing of Stern's interview was purely coincidental; The White House has been working with the Sirius XM host for weeks to arrange the conversation, a person familiar with the plans said. The person was granted anonymity to discuss internal planning processes.
And with less of the old "shock," Stern still has a loyal following. He became known for his conversational interview skills. He can turn conversations with celebrities into revealing discussions, often bringing up things that others might be afraid of, but not in a confrontational way.