Mainstream News Outlets Publish Open Letter Urging Biden and Trump to Debate

A dozen of America’s most prominent mainstream media outlets have published an open letter urging Joe Biden and Donald Trump to agree to debate before the 2024 election.

Letter signatories included ABC News, The Associated Press, CBS News, CNN, C-SPAN, Fox News, NBC News, NewsNation, Univision, NPR, PBS NewsHour and USA Today.

The letter calls on the two leading candidates “to publicly commit to participating in general election debates before November’s election.”

C-SPAN joins other major news organizations to urge the presumptive presidential nominees to publicly commit to participate in general election debates prior to November’s election. pic.twitter.com/QoQtiZku2P

— CSPAN (@cspan) April 14, 2024

The organizations argued that debates have “played a vital role in every presidential election of the past 50 years, dating to 1976.”

“Though it is too early for invitations to be extended to any candidates, it is not too early for candidates who expect to meet the eligibility criteria to publicly state their support for – and their intention to participate in – the Commission’s debates planned for this fall,” the letter continues.

Trump has already vowed to debate Biden “anytime, anywhere anyplace,” but Biden has refused to commit.

Biden told reporters in February, “If I were him, I’d want him to debate me, too. He’s got nothing else to do.”