Wrangling over the ground rules of presidential debates is a time-honored tradition that dates back to the first-ever televised debates in 1960 when John F. Kennedy refused to wear makeup on camera, and Richard Nixon followed suit.
The suntanned Democrat appeared youthful and vigorous while Nixon’s five-o’clock shadow and pallid complexion made him look haggard. Kennedy won the debate and the election, setting off a quadrennial contest to win debates before they begin by staging them on favorable terms.
Former President Trump and President Biden are no strangers to the debate prep two-step.
Before the 2020 debates, President Trump claimed that the 2016 debates had been biased against him and threatened not to participate in 2024.
He eventually agreed to debate but refused to take part in the second of three events, which would have been conducted remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Meanwhile, President Biden’s campaign manager, Jen O’Malley Dillon, wrote to the Commission on Presidential Debates in 2020 trying to influence the planning. She said her candidate would participate only in debates sponsored by the Commission.
This year, Ms. Dillon again wrote to the Commission, listing complaints about debates and saying President Biden would participate only in debates not sponsored by that organization.
Responding to President Trump’s challenge to debate “anywhere, anytime, any place,” the Biden campaign proposed changes that guarantee this round of debates will differ significantly from 2020, and President Trump agreed.
Those changes include an unusually early date for the first debate, limiting the number of debates to just two, and skipping the usual walk-on entry to the debate stage, instead starting with both candidates standing at the podium.
