Jen Psaki thinks Biden-Trump debate could collapse: ‘I’m a skeptic’

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Dear Commons Community,

Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki is not confident that the debates between President Biden and former President Trump will actually go forward. 

“I’m still a skeptic, a little bit,” she said in an interview Wednesday on “Pod Save America.” 

Psaki, now an MSNBC host, warned that Trump could object to the terms presented by Biden’s team, causing the scheduled debates to fall apart almost as quickly as they were agreed to. 

“Trump could certainly say, ‘I never agreed to those terms,’ and he probably will,” Psaki said. “That’s how this all falls apart.” 

Biden and Trump on Wednesday morning agreed to two debates, one on June 27 hosted by CNN and a second on Sept. 10 hosted by ABC. 

Biden quoted Trump’s words back at him when he offered the debate terms: “As you said: anywhere, any time, any place.” Trump agreed, calling Biden “the worst debater I have ever faced” after the pair faced off during the 2020 presidential campaign. 

“I think this is an interesting play by the Biden team,” Psaki said, explaining that the president is under pressure to debate Trump, especially as anti-Israel student protests cause confusion domestically and the Israel-Palestine war looms over international affairs. 

“It feels chaotic,” she said. “And it feels a little weak that he can’t unilaterally make all these things calm.” 

Psaki said if President Biden had said he was “considering” debates, it would play into the “Sleepy Joe” narratives about his age.

Psaki praised Biden’s team for presenting a list of rules for a debate with Trump, calling the move “smart.” 

The Biden-Harris campaign asked that the debates occur inside a TV studio, with microphones that automatically cut off when a speaker’s time limit elapses.

Psaki also explained why she believes that the Biden campaign felt forced to move first against Trump and challenge him to a debate. 

“I think internally they knew that at some point this was going to hit a head,” Psaki said. “They were either going to be ahead of it, or they’d be responding to Trump.” 

Psaki knows a lot about Washington and presidential elections.  She may be right about this.

Tony

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