The top advisers for former President Joe Biden felt the earlier the better when it came to debating his opponent current President Donald Trump.
The detail of encouraging an early debate was detailed in a six-page memo addressed to Biden, Politico reported.
The memo, dated April 15, 2024, stated the first debate was scheduled for the Fall, after mail-in votes were to be distributed. The advisers felt an earlier debate was needed.
The contents of the memo are in a new book, “2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,” by journalists Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf.
“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,” per the memo, where all references to Biden as “you” is written in all capital letters and bold. “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.”
The memo also outlined an extensive schedule for Biden to prepare for the debate.
However, when the debate was broadcast on June 27 on CNN, things did not go as planned as Biden’s hopes for reelection dashed as the president appeared confused and disoriented.
The book states that not all were in favor of a debate. For instance, a donor notified the White House in May. The donor was “alarmed” by how Biden was at a Chicago fundraiser. The donor said they should “find an excuse” to get Biden out of debates.
