Nancy Pelosi Says There Should Not Be Any Presidential Debates Between Biden, Trump

House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday that she believes there should not be any presidential debates between Democratic nominee Joe Biden and Republican President Donald Trump.

“I don’t think that there should be any debates,” Pelosi told reporters during a news conference at the Capitol. “I do not think that the president of the United States has comported himself in a way that anybody has any association with truth, evidence, data and facts.”

"I wouldn't legitimize a conversation with him, nor a debate in terms of the presidency of the United States. Now I know that the Biden campaign thinks in a different way about this,” Pelosi continued.

Pelosi said Trump would “belittle” the debates. She pointed out Trump’s behavior during debates with Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016, most notably when he stood close behind Clinton as she was answering questions.

Biden said he would move forward with the debates with Trump, saying he will act as a "fact checker."

“No, I’m going to come — as long as the commission continues down the straight and narrow, as they have, I’m going to debate him,” Biden told MSNBC in response to Pelosi's remarks. “I’m going to be a fact-checker on the floor while I’m debating him, in fact.”

The Trump campaign has been eager for the president to take the debate stage with Biden. Trump’s team has pushed for an additional debate that would take place early in September, but the Commission on Presidential Debates has turned down the request.

In an interview Wednesday with the Washington Examiner, Trump called for drug tests before the debates, implying that Biden was taking a substance to improve his performance. There is no evidence to support the claim.

The Trump campaign has not always been so enthusiastic about the debates. Prior to the pandemic, Trump campaign officials expressed concerns that the debates may not be “fair” towards the president and considered not participating. Sources told the New York Times in December that Trump had told advisers he does not trust the Commission on Presidential Debates.

“We want to have debates that are fair and are more geared toward informing the American people than to boosting the careers of the moderators,” Trump campaign spokesperson Tim Murtaugh said in January.

The first presidential debate between Trump and Biden will take place on Sept. 29 at Case Western University in Cleveland. There will be a small live audience to watch the event.