Jen Psaki Says Not So Fast On Announced Biden-Trump Debates
Jen Psaki on Wednesday said she’s somewhat doubtful that the now-scheduled debates between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump will actually happen. (Watch the video below.)
Hours earlier, Biden had issued a cheeky “make my day” challenge for Trump to debate him as they compete for the White House, and Trump accepted. The two will jaw it out on CNN on June 27 and ABC on Sept. 10.
That is, if the events proceed as planned.
“I’m still a skeptic,” the former White House press secretary for Biden told ex-Barack Obama spokesperson Tommy Vietor on “Pod Save America.” The podcast host called Psaki’s assessment “well-held skepticism.”
Psaki, now an MSNBC commentator, praised Biden’s team for being proactive in forcefully initiating the debates after Trump had repeatedly challenged him.
She said the Biden team was “smart” in issuing a letter with ground rules for the events, such as having no audience and muting candidates’ microphones when their time to speak is up.
The Biden camp’s assertiveness put Trump’s campaign “on their back feet where they just had to agree to that,” she said.
But the conditions of the debates could also be their undoing, Psaki noted.
“Trump could certainly say, ‘I never agreed to those specifics in the letter,’ and he probably will,” she said. “And that’s how this all falls apart, even though he’s basically said, ‘I would debate him anywhere, anytime.’”
Fast-forward to the 3:20 mark for the debate talk:
H/T Mediaite