Republicans have had lots of opinions as to whether it was a good idea for Donald Trump to skip debating with his primary opponents thus far. Some have asked why would he need to when he is 30 points up on his next closest opponent. Some have said that it was unfair that voters were unable to see all their choices for the GOP nomination all together on one stage debating the issues. But as Trump stands a very good chance of being the Republican Presidential nominee, Democrats seem to be a bit nervous about any general election debates between Trump and Joe Biden.
It sure sounds like Trump is ready to debate Joe Biden. He recently told radio host Hugh Hewitt that he would be willing to debate Biden ten times. But Democrats are suddenly full of excuses as to why Biden should not take the time to debate Trump at all. Democrats acknowledge that Joe Biden's age is a problem for voters. But "age" may be a code word for something else. A November George Washington University/YouGov poll showed that just 38 percent of voters think Biden is mentally fit to serve another term, and only 35 percent think his physical health is adequate for four more years. Democrats know that being on stage with Donald Trump is just another opportunity for Biden to tell whoppers like the kitchen fire story (again), that his son Beau died in Iraq (again), or most recently, how he and First Lady Jill Biden "attended the funeral of police officers who died as a result of the events of that day (Jan.6)." Then there is the increasing number of instances where Joe Biden has to be told how to exit a stage. Not exactly a good look at the end of a debate.
Democrats are also "concerned" that a Trump-Biden debate just gives the former president a platform to say what he thinks, translation, things that make Democrats squirmy. Senate Democrat Whip Dick Durbin (IL) said:
I’ve been physically present at one of [Trump’s] debates with Hillary Clinton, and I watched him do outrageous things and say outrageous things. It’s just an opportunity for him to display his extremism.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) echoed Durbin saying,
"I was in the room for one of the debates in 2020 — Chris Wallace was the moderator. The former president in no way at all respected the rules or the tradition or decorum” of presidential debates, Coons said. "It was a disaster."
So, to be clear, the people who are blathering on about "saving democracy" by trying to throw Joe Biden's chief political opponent in jail are suddenly worried about decorum and decency.
The fact that Donald Trump continues to claim that the 2020 election was stolen is what Democrats are talking about when they refer to Trump saying "outrageous things" and "extremism." Unfortunately for them, many Americans might think Trump is onto something. A recent Suffolk University/USA Today poll showed that 52 percent of voters said they were not confident that votes would be accurately counted in 2024.
Donald Trump has a solid record of accomplishments to run on -- record low unemployment, a secure southern border, low inflation, and a healthy fear and respect abroad. Secretly, Democrats know that Joe Biden cannot run on his record; well, some of them do. Steve Jarding is a Democrat strategist and says Biden should debate Trump because it gives him a chance to talk about his record.
Gas prices are down, we just had a good jobs report for December, another one. Things are going pretty well. You’ve got inflation under control … Normally, that’s a debate I want to have.
Wait what? But it gets better. Jarding goes on to say that a "fact-based" debate about the economy with Trump is a bad idea because “Trump doesn’t play by any rules.” Translation: Trump tells the truth about the economy.
Democrats also cite what they believe to be Trump's "image problem," creating unusually low expectations in a debate performance. But if such an image problem exists, they, along with the media, have created it. Democrats know Trump would beat Joe Biden outright in a debate.
But Democrats are counting on Trump being tied up in legal knots as he faces almost 90 felony charges stemming from four different indictments. Democrats are also seeking to have him removed from the ballot in several states, including Colorado, based on a Fourteenth Amendment clause. That case is scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court on February 8. All of that may be a long shot for Democrats to avoid having to defend Joe Biden's disastrous record.
A debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is almost secondary. The best part will be watching how Democrats try to get out of it.