12 Major News Outlets Urge Biden And Trump To Commit To Presidential Debates

Twelve news organizations, including The Associated Press and the five major broadcast and cable networks, made an unprecedented move Sunday by releasing a joint statement, urging both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to pledge their participation in televised debates leading up to Election Day.

The news outlets said that televised debates have been a "rich tradition" integral to every general election campaign since 1976. Though it's uncommon for media organizations to intervene directly in the campaign strategies of presidential candidates, the move highlights the uncertainty surrounding the possibility of debates taking place this year.

ABC News, CBS News, NBCUniversal News Group (including NBC News and MSNBC), Fox, CNN, C-SPAN, the PBS NewsHour, Nextstar's NewsNation, Spanish-language Univision, The Associated Press wire service, National Public Radio and Gannett's national newspaper USA Today were among the media organizations that endorsed the statement.

Trump, who abstained from participating in debates for the Republican nomination, has promised to debate with Biden.

The former president's top two campaign advisers sent a letter to the debates commission last week, advocating for an expedited debate schedule. They proposed hosting more than the typical three events and initiating them earlier in the campaign cycle than usual.

Biden has not yet pledged to participate in another debate with Trump.

While formal invitations have not yet been sent, the news organizations said it's not too early for each campaign to publicly declare their intention to participate in the three presidential and one vice-presidential forums scheduled by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.

Biden's supporters have voiced apprehensions about the Commission on Presidential Debates, questioning the impartiality of the nonpartisan organization and its effectiveness in enforcing rules during Trump's participation.

Trump has frequently criticized Biden for not participating in debates. However, in 2020, Trump's withdrawal at the last minute led to the cancellation of the second scheduled debate.

He also declined to debate his Republican primary opponents last year, and has accused the debate commission of favoring Biden.

If no debate occurs this year, it would break a tradition that has been in place since the 1976 election between Jimmy Carter and Gerald R. Ford.

Presidential debates continue to be one of America's largest mass gatherings outside of sports, with an average of 68 million viewers tuned in for the two Biden-Trump debates in 2020.