Biden's High Risk Debate Strategy Explained

The President has a strategic imperative to put Trump's lunacy on display for the country ASAP

Well, that was fast.

On Wednesday morning, Joe Biden challenged Donald Trump to two debates, one in June and one in September, via a letter and an amusingly pugilistic video.

Trump immediately and somewhat peevishly accepted Biden’s proposal while also calling for more than two debates:

Within an hour, CNN proposed a debate on June 26th in Atlanta, Georgia, and both Biden and Trump accepted. And we are off to the races. Soon after, they both agreed to a September debate on ABC. Before this morning, the conventional wisdom was that a debate was unlikely. Despite Trump’s transparently false bravado, it wasn’t clear either candidate wanted a debate. Even if they did, it seemed unlikely that Trump would agree to a non-MAGA sycophantic moderator.

Now, as every Formica salesman in the greater tri-state area knows, no deal with Trump is done until the check clears, but it seems like a debate will happen sooner rather than later.

Here’s why Biden is right to move to get a debate on the books sooner rather than later.

1. Why This Makes Sense for Biden

It’s not intuitively obvious that Biden should participate in the debates. Trump is a moron who knows nothing about policy and couldn’t pass the U.S. citizenship test if he tried. However, debating with Trump is like trying to ballroom dance with a rabid hyena. He won't follow the rules or answer the questions. Debating someone who lies non-stop is a challenge because he’s constantly rebutting and fact-checking, which means you are on defense the entire time. Trump is dangerously unpredictable, and the most likely scenario is that he will turn the whole thing into a giant diminishing mess.

Given the political press’s obsession with Biden’s age, misstatement from the President will be treated as a massive blunder. In contrast, the former president’s lies or absurdities will be considered par for the course.