"Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday she doesn’t think there should be any presidential debates ahead of the November election, arguing Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden shouldn't "legitimize" a discussion with President Trump.
“I don’t think that there should be any debates,” Pelosi told reporters. “I do not think that the president of the United States has comported himself in a way that anybody has any association with truth, evidence, data and facts.”
“I wouldn’t legitimize a conversation with him nor a debate in terms of the presidency of the United States,” she added.
“I think that he’ll probably act in a way that is beneath the dignity of the presidency,” she said, citing what she called his “disgraceful” actions during the 2016 debates with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“He does that every day,” she added. “But I think he will also belittle what the debates are supposed to be about.”
Instead, Pelosi proposed that the candidates take separate stages and answer questions about their policies in a “conversation with the American people” instead of “an exercise in skulduggery.”
But she acknowledged that the Biden campaign “thinks in a different way about this.”
The House Speaker's remarks come as some within the Democratic Party have said Biden shouldn't participate in debates with Trump, pointing to the polling advantage Biden has over the president.
Pelosi had hinted that she didn't think Biden should debate Trump during an interview last week with David Axelrod on his podcast.
"My view, I wouldn't even debate Trump because unless you have a lie detector, or a truth teller," she told "The Axe Files," adding that Biden "has said he will, and that's great."
She also alleged the press have "enabled a lot of Trump to happen."
"Remember when he was stalking Hillary Clinton during the debate," she said. "Why wouldn't the press have said go back to your place? Why did they let that happen?"
The Biden campaign has dismissed advice to skip the debates, with a spokesman saying earlier this month that he looked forward to debating the president.
Several other Democratic leaders have said Biden shouldn’t fear debating Trump before the election, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
“We’ve had presidential debates for a long time now, and it’s been a way for a lot of people around the nation to be able to see the candidates in action,” Warren said.
Trump and his campaign have sought to cast doubt on Biden's mental fitness, emphasizing his past verbal gaffes, and have pushed for more debates and for them to take place sooner.
Biden himself said it is a "legitimate question" to ask about the mental fitness of any candidate over the age of 70, while dismissing Trump's attacks.
“The only thing I can say to the American people ... watch me,” Biden said in a recent interview with ABC News.
The president also requested the candidates take drug tests before the first debate against Biden in Cleveland on Sept. 29, suggesting that drugs had improved the former vice president's debate performance against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in March.
The Commission on Presidential Debates has scheduled three debates between Biden and Trump and one between Vice President Mike Pence and Biden's running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.)"
metmike:
If she and the dems thought that Biden was still sharp and, as a result of that, would do well in the debates...........no way would they be trying to cancel them. NO WAY!
This clearly shows they are worried about how badly Biden might do.
If she thinks that the president will "act beneath the dignity of the office of the president" then why would she not WANT people to see that to increase the "Not Donald Trump" vote?
She says that the media is "enabling Trump"??????
What the heck? What planet has she been living on?? The vast majority of the media interprets everything that Trump says and does as negative. They are committed to defeating him. They are on your side Nancy!
They will most certainly do that in a Trump/Biden debate. Of course she knows that.
Their ridiculous justification for not having the debates shows them/her to be dishonest schemers.
Biden has had a massive lead. They watched the very weak dem convention that focused on attacking Trump and had little in the form of good things for America, then watched the rep convention this week that has been chock full of positives and told us about the many legit accomplishments of President Trump and that he is absolutely not the racist the left has convinced their flock is the case.
The last thing they need is a sharp, non racist president repeating his many accomplishments going up against a cognitively diminished opponent with extremely weak/bad for America agenda.
debates are fundamental to running for office. Yes we know Biden is hiding in his basement trying avoid the public.....and yes nancy, you are right, getting all those camera, podiums, and people would be a tight fight in Joe's bunker. God, what an idiot she is.
https://blog.eftours.com/inspiration/education/the-evolution-of-presidential-debates
"2000’s: Today, debates have fully become an election tradition. The offer to take part in a presidential debate is never turned down. On average, more than 65 million people tune in to watch. It’s now become the best way for candidates to distinguish themselves and share their policies and positions with voters."
This is exactly what Pelosi and many from that side are afraid of in a debate with President Trump.
They want to beat President Trump by hammering away at him for causing COVID deaths and with fake narratives of him being a racist and xenophobe.
The strategy is to get them out to Vote for:
NOT Donald J. Trump
In a debate, like with the dem convention last week that caused Trumps ratings to increase, highlighting Joe Biden and the agenda of the left reminds voters of what/who they are actually voting for, when they vote for NOT Donald J. Trump.........
The weakest candidate and agenda for either party in my life time.
So its best to concentrate on NOT Donald J. Trump because he is loaded with character flaws, is mean/a bully and easy to hate and some people will believe everything bad you make up about him to go with the things he does to shoot himself in the foot at times.