Leaked Memo Reveals Biden Advisers Pushed Early Trump Debate To Reach ‘Widest Audience Possible’
A newly uncovered internal campaign memo reveals that Joe Biden’s advisors pushed him to commit to an early debate with Donald Trump in hopes of securing a broader audience ahead of the crowded summer season.
The confidential six-page strategy paper, dated April 15, 2024—just over two months before Biden’s ill-fated debate showing—oddly features bolded and capitalized references to the 46th president throughout the text.
“By holding the first debate in the spring, YOU will be able to reach the widest audience possible, before we are deep in the summer months with the conventions, Olympics, and family vacations taking precedence,” the memo stated, according to Politico.
The strategy laid out in the document aimed to place Biden side-by-side with Trump early, hoping the contrast would benefit the sitting president.
“In addition, the earlier YOU are able to debate the better, so that the American people can see YOU standing next to Trump and showing the strength of YOUR leadership, compared to Trump’s weakness and chaos,” it added.
The internal memo is cited in the new political book 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America, authored by Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, and Isaac Arnsdorf.
Just prior to the memo’s circulation, Trump’s camp issued a public challenge to Biden, urging him to step onto the debate stage ahead of the traditional fall schedule, declaring he would debate “anytime, anywhere, anyplace.”
“Your senior advisors, including Ron [Klain, former White House chief of staff] and Cedric [Richmond, then campaign co-chair], continue to believe it is important to move forward with a plan that supports your participation in debates as early as possible,” the memo also emphasized.
The document warned against waiting until late in the campaign season, arguing that by then, many voters in key swing states would have already submitted mail-in ballots or missed registration deadlines.
“YOUR Senior Advisors think strategically holding these debates in the fall, after many of the battleground states have already begun their early voting process and voter registration deadlines have passed is too late,” the memo stated, pointing to states like Wisconsin and North Carolina.
The plan outlined in the memo proposed hosting a debate prior to the Democratic National Convention in August, and a follow-up after Labor Day. The idea was to reassess the campaign’s direction after the first showdown.
Biden’s team homed in on June 26 or 27 for the first debate, aligning the date with his travel schedule and notable events such as the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
One month after the memo’s drafting, Biden officially issued a challenge to Trump to meet him onstage, a proposition the Trump campaign immediately accepted.
The candidates agreed on two debate dates: the first on June 27, the second scheduled for September 10.
That second debate never took place. Biden’s disastrous first performance triggered panic within the Democratic Party, and mounting pressure ultimately forced him to end his re-election campaign on July 21.
{Matzav.com}