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Witcover: Republican Party tries to kill presidential debate commission

By Jules Witcover - | Jan 18, 2022

KRT

Jules Witcover

WASHINGTON — A highlight of American politics faces extinction in the Republican National Committee’s threat to boycott the quadrennial presidential debates conducted by a bipartisan independent commission.

Ronna McDaniel, the RNC chairwoman, has written Frank Fahrenkopf, the Republican co-chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates, that GOP voters have “lost faith in your organization,” and the RNC therefore will act “to prohibit future Republican nominees from participating” in them. Such a step would deprive voters of perhaps the most popularly anticipated event in the presidential election season.

Fahrenkopf, widely regarded as a moderate voice in his party, noted that the commission deals directly with the candidates it invites to the debates. In 2024, he said, its plans “will be based on fairness, neutrality and a firm commitment to help the American public learn about the candidates and the issues.”

McDaniel cited as her reason for balking at the commission “a glaring conflict of interest” in the 2020 debate between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden. She said it had chosen a moderator, Steve Scully, who had once been a Biden intern when he was a senator. But the debate was canceled because of the coronavirus fears.

McDaniel also complained that the 2020 debate took place after early voting in some states, and Trump charged the commission was stacked with “Trump Haters and Never Trumpers.” He also balked for a time before deciding he wanted the heavy television exposure and, according to some observers, he believed he could outshine Biden.

But the eventual debate proved otherwise. Biden, accused in the past of verbal gaffes, more than held his own in an election that turned out to be a referendum on Trump’s own political qualifications, compared to Biden’s resume as a senator and vice president.

In a record turnout, Trump won 74 million popular votes but fell 7 million short of Biden’s 81 million, and lost in the Electoral College. Vice President Mike Pence, presiding over the count, rebuffed Trump’s urgent demand that he declare it in his favor.

The presidential debates have become a heavily watched institution every four years since the race in 1960 between Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard M. Nixon. Post-election surveys indicated the younger Kennedy’s self-assurance and personal charm in their debate carried the day for him. Subsequent televised debates also have been essential vehicles for all nominees.

In 2016, Trump by most assessments didn’t shine in his televised encounters with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, but she had perceived shortcomings of her own. She narrowly won the popular vote but Trump won in the decisive electoral college, 304 votes to 227 for Clinton, a result that elevated Trump to his startling upset victory.

In 2024, it seems unlikely Trump would abide by any RNC edict to stay out of a debate rematch with Biden, when it might be his best chance to regain the Oval Office.

Jules Witcover’s latest book is “The American Vice Presidency: From Irrelevance to Power,” published by Smithsonian Books. You can respond to this column at juleswitcover@comcast.net.

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