The Commission on Presidential Debates is pushing back against Trump campaign criticism of the 2024 debate schedule.
The non-partisan body announced the dates and venues for the three debates end of last yearOn Wednesday, Trump campaign officials responded by calling the timeline “unacceptable.”
“CPD has only one mission: to sponsor and prepare general election debates that inform and educate the public,” the commission said in a statement. “Our schedule is designed with this singular mission in mind.”
The first debate will be held on September 16 at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.
On Tuesday, Trump’s campaign issued a statement saying the commission’s schedule would not begin until “millions of Americans have already voted.”
The vast majority of states will not start sending absentee ballots in the first debate. While a few states begin sending out absentee ballots in early September, most start sending them a month and a half after the election. National Conference of State Legislatures. This year, the election day falls on November 5.
“As always, CPD considered many factors when selecting debate dates to make available to the American public,” the commission said. “These factors include religious and federal holidays, early voting and the dates on which individual states close their ballots.”
“The CPD has purposefully chosen September 16 after thoroughly examining early voting rules in each state,” the commission said, noting that the September debate would be “the earliest televised general election debate ever.”
Trump’s co-campaign managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles reacted to the commission’s response by repeating their criticism.
A day earlier, the pair said they were “committed to doing this with or without the Presidential Debate Commission.”
Established in 1987, the commission has sponsored all presidential debates for decades.
President Joe Biden said during an interview last week that he would be “happy to debate” Trump.
The former president, who skipped all of the 2024 GOP primary debates, later posted on social media that he was ready for the debate, writing in all caps “anywhere, anytime, anywhere.”