President Biden said Friday he would be “happy” to debate former President Trump during an interview with radio host Howard Stern.
“I’m somewhere, I don’t know when. I’m happy to debate him,” Biden said, after Stern said he didn’t know if Biden would participate in a debate.
Biden’s comments represent a change from past remarks about a possible Trump debate. Last month, he told reporters it would depend “on his behavior.”
Trump’s campaign jumped on the news, with campaign adviser Chris LaCivita writing on X: “Okay, let’s install it!”
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Trump quickly posted on Truth Social challenging Biden to debate him at the New York courthouse, where he is currently on trial.
“Crooked Joe Biden just announced he’s ready to debate! Everyone knows he doesn’t really mean it, but just in case he does, I say, ANYWHERE, ANY TIME, ANY PLACE , an old phrase used by fighters. I suggest Monday night, Tuesday night, or Wednesday night at my rally in Michigan, a state he is destroying with his EV mandate,” Trump wrote. “Alternatively, he is in New York today, although he probably doesn’t know it, and so am I, stuck in one of the many court cases he initiated under the title of ELECTION INTERFERENCE AGAINST AN OPPONENT POLITICS – A WITCH HUNT CONTINUES! It’s “It’s the only way he can win. In fact, let’s have the debate at the courthouse tonight – on national television, I’ll be waiting! “
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, had publicly pressured Biden to engage in the debates. The Trump campaign called earlier this month for additional presidential debates in 2024 and for them to take place “much earlier” than was initially proposed by the debate commission.
Trump, who despite criticism skipped the Republican primary debates as he moved toward the nomination, wrote last month on Truth Social that he would debate Biden any time.
FILE – Former President Donald Trump, left, and President Joe Biden during the first presidential debate of 2020 at Case Western University and the Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, file) ((AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, file))
“It is important, for the sake of our country, that Joe Biden and I debate issues that are so vital to America and the American people,” Trump said. “Therefore, I call for debates, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, ANYWHERE! The debates may be run by the corrupt DNC, or by its subsidiary, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD).”
Trump and Biden only met for two debates in 2020; it was the first time since 1996 that the main candidates did not meet three times. One of the debates originally scheduled for 2020 was canceled after Trump tested positive for COVID-19 and refused to appear remotely.
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Stern said he fantasized that Biden would call out Trump during their debate over his phone call with Georgia election officials in 2021 about finding votes for him in the state.
“That’s the end of the debate. You can’t run if you want to rig an election,” Stern said.
Biden responded by condemning Trump’s actions during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Brooke Singman of Fox News contributed to this report.
