President Donald Trump has laid down the gauntlet for his main rival in the 2024 presidential election.
During an interview on Monday, Trump demanded that Democrat President Joe Biden immediately face him for public debate.
Trump told conservative commentator Dan Bongino that Biden should agree to debate him “now” for “the good of the country.”
The 45th president issued the challenge while blasting Biden’s handling of several national and international crises.
“I’d like to debate him now because we should debate,” Trump said.
“We should debate for the good of the country.”
Biden was asked about Trump’s comments later that day while campaigning in Nevada.
“Immediately?” Biden responded to reporters.
“Well, if I were him, I’d want to debate me, too.
“He’s got nothing else to do.”
With Trump holding a commanding lead in the GOP primary, the outlook for general election debates is uncertain.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) withdrew from the Commission on Presidential Debates in 2022.
Trump himself has also called the organization “corrupt.”
“They’re totally corrupt,” Trump said in December, according to NBC News.
“They’re totally Democrat-leaning, that’s being nice when I use the word leaning.
“They are totally corrupt, and they’re terrible.
“With that being said, I would do 20 debates even if it was organized by them.
“I’ll do as many debates as they want.
“I’d do a debate every night with this guy.
“But he’ll never show up to a debate.”
Neither Trump nor Biden have taken part in debates during this election cycle.
Last year, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) refused to hold debates for Biden’s challengers.
Meanwhile, President Trump’s commanding lead in the GOP race meant his participation in Republican primary debates would have only given free publicity to his challengers.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, the sole remaining challenger to Trump, participated in multiple debates with other candidates while Trump was absent.
However, Haley’s campaign has been crushed into relative insignificance while up against Trump.
Trump and his campaign argue that his massive lead in GOP polls freed him of any obligation to debate distant challengers.
The debate commission has so far scheduled three general election debates, though neither Trump nor Biden have publicly agreed to them.
The debates are scheduled for Sept. 16 at Texas State University in San Marcos, Oct. 1 at Virginia State University in Petersburg, and Oct. 9 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, according to NBC.
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