In an interview this week, Donald Trump said he wanted to challenge President Joe Biden to a debate. When he received news of this, Biden scoffed, saying, “He’s got nothing else to do.”
During Trump’s interview on The Dan Bongino Show, he said he wanted to debate Biden “immediately,” and that it would be good for the country to see them go head-to-head. Trump has been calling for a debate against Biden since late last year, but so far, Biden has not seemed eager to schedule a time for them to face off.
For his part, when he heard about Trump’s latest challenge, Biden scoffed at the idea and hinted that Trump wasn’t doing anything else but talk. While on a campaign stop in Las Vegas, he laughed and told reporters, “Well, if I were him, I’d want to debate me, too.”
NEW – Biden says, "If I were [Trump], I'd wanna debate me, too."pic.twitter.com/On56cM0RY9
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) February 6, 2024
The primaries are still ongoing for the presidential election, but little spats like this showcase how likely it seems that Biden and Trump will be their parties’ respective nominees for this election. Although Biden is being challenged by a few other Democrats, it seems extremely unlikely for him to lose his primary seat.
Similarly, although Trump has primary challengers, he’s managed to stay ahead of any of his other Republican opponents. He won New Hampshire’s primary in January, defeating Nikki Haley by 11 percentage points, and is trying to defeat her in other upcoming primaries as well. However, it will be a tougher road for him to win the primary this year, and his win is not yet guaranteed.
Even so, both Biden and Trump have essentially treated this race as a general election. Neither candidate has attended their party’s primary debates, and both of them seem mainly focused on defeating the other in a general election.
Many people are concerned about President Biden’s mental capabilities and handling of the economy, among other things, and his poll numbers are some of the worst of any president in history. Despite legal setbacks and court cases, Trump has actually gained a lead over Biden in the newest polls. If it came to an election today, it would still be close, but Trump might be able to edge out the sitting president despite his deep unpopularity with large portions of the country.
However, the election is still almost a year away, and it remains to be seen how a debate may affect these poll numbers. If and when Trump and Biden appear on stage together, it will give Americans a much better idea of who they want leading the country and why.
