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. |
Confucius Institute in Nepal lauded during 1st inaugural anniversaryEven the boss is worried! Hundreds of chief executives fear AI could steal their jobs too2024 New York International Auto Show kicks offTibetan incense brings wealth to town of SW China's XizangThe NBA playChina's newChase Elliott ends 42Kobe Bryant's widow gifts sneakers from her late husband's Nike line to LA Dodgers as AllChinese firms can narrow AI gap with US within 1 or 2 years: founder of cybersecurity companyIn pics: Wudongde hydropower station in SW China