CONK!
At last Tuesday’s town hall forum sponsored by Fox News and hosted by Laura Ingraham former president Donald Trump issued a challenge to President Biden: let’s debate right now.
In 2016, Trump participated in numerous GOP primary debates, which catapulted him to the nomination to face off against Hillary Clinton. In the fall campaign Trump debated Clinton several times and attracted enough independent voters to win the presidency in a squeaker.
The 2020 presidential was like no other in American history. Biden basically campaigned from his basement and debated Trump who could not refrain himself from interrupting Joe so many times letting the Democratic nominee off the hook who could have hung himself with his own words. In short, Trump was his own worst enemy during the debates. Trump clearly lost his master debater mojo, which he had four years earlier.
In this election cycle Trump has refused to participate in any of the RNC sponsored debates. As the leading candidate for the nomination, Trump sidestepped the debates because he lost his mojo or he was a coward, accordion to rival Chris Christie. Even with only Nikki Haley campaigning for the GOP nomination, Trump will not debate his former UN ambassador.
(Biden also has refused to debate his opponents for the presidential nomination.)
But Trump apparently has his master debater skills gearing up to take on “sleepy Joe,” and cannot wait to go mano y mano against the commander-in-chief.
The Wall Street Journal editorial pointed out that Trump may have the tables turned on him. If Biden refuses to debate Trump, assuming both are the presidential nominees, then Trump has no one to blame but himself.
My position on candidate debates has been clear for decades. If a candidate—especially the leading one for a party’s nomination or in the general election—does not debate, he or she is not worthy of the voters’ support.
With most voters are not thrilled with either Biden or Trump, for now the electorate are stuck with the two these major party candidates. Is this RFK’s opportunity or another third-party candidate to appeal to the public with a liberty agenda?
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Murray Sabrin, PhD, is emeritus professor of finance, Ramapo College of New Jersey. Dr. Sabrin is considered a “public intellectual” for writing about the economy in scholarly and popular publications. His new book, The Finance of Health Care: Wellness and Innovative Approaches to Employee Medical Insurance (Business Expert Press, Oct. 24, 2022), and his other BEP publication, Navigating the Boom/Bust Cycle: An Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide (October 2021), provides decision makers with tools needed to help manage their businesses during the inexecrable business cycle. Sabrin’s autobiography, From Immigrant to Public Intellectual: An American Story, was published in November, 2022.
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