Former President and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump issued a bold challenge to current President and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden for a no-holds-barred debate. The challenge came at a time when Biden was said to be getting ready for an exhaustive interview, which, according to his campaign aides, could help dispel doubts about his health and physical fitness for office after having put up a lackluster performance during last week's debate.
"I have the answer to the Crooked Joe Biden Incompetence Puzzle", Trump posted on Truth Social, his new platform launched after being banned from Twitter, now known as X.
"Let's do another Debate, but this time, no holds barred - An all on discussion, with just the two of us on stage, talking about the future of our Country."
Now, another debate is going to happen in September strictly in the same format as the first: just candidates and moderators on stage, no audience, and strict time regulations.
The president has come out relatively unscathed from the first debate despite several falsehoods, because his opponent's lackluster performance took center stage in headlines, causing panic among Democratic bigwigs and party members.
Calls for Biden to step aside in favor of a younger, more capable candidate began immediately and persist, despite efforts by Biden and his campaign to attribute his debate performance to a sore throat and fatigue from recent travels abroad. Biden has increased his public appearances to demonstrate his health and mental acuity, including an upcoming interview with an ABC anchor set to air unedited on Friday evening.
According to reports, Biden has confided in an ally that his performance during this interview and subsequent public events will be a major determining factor in his decision to either stay or get out of the race.
Vice President Kamala Harris has come to be seen as a highly credible prospect for Democratic Presidential nomination in case Biden quits, with most party leaders tending towards her support even as she declined to officially back away from supporting Biden.
Recent head-to-head polls have her down by 3 percentage points to the former President, setting up a tightly contested race if she can win the Democratic nomination.
The political fortunes of Trump became reversed with those of Biden, tracked in polls where Trump surged ahead of Biden; what used to be the other way around. Trump is fierce to capitalize on this advantage as he pushes for another debate, this time with a no-holds-barred format.
The tables have turned on 2020, when Trump was lambasted for cutting off Biden during their first debate. Now it is Trump who is surging into a wave of momentum from his debate win and is ready to take on any Democrat if Biden bows out.
"President Trump will defeat any Democrat on November 5th because he's got a proven record and an agenda to Make America Great Again," Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement to reporters.
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