President Trump Campaign Seeks Early September Debate vs. Joe Biden To Catch Early Voters

President Trump's campaign on Wednesday asked the Commission on Presidential Debates to schedule a confrontation between Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden before early voting begins in September.

Trump is not scheduled to accept the Republican nomination until Aug. 27, and Biden’s acceptance speech is scheduled for Aug. 20.

Early voting begins Sept. 14, two weeks before the first scheduled presidential debate, currently set for Sept. 29.

“By the time of the first presidential debate on Sept. 29 … at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland … as many as 8 million Americans in 16 states will have already started voting,” Trump’s campaign said in the letter, which seeks a fourth debate to be added to the already agreed-to three or to have the final debate moved up.

By the time the final debate is held Oct. 22, voting will have started in 34 states, the letter noted.

“Simply put, the commission’s current approach is an outdated dinosaur and not reflective of voting realities in 2020,” said the letter signed by Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani.

“For a nation already deprived of a traditional campaign schedule because of the COVID-19 global pandemic, it makes no sense to also deprive so many Americans of the opportunity to see and hear the two competing visions for our country’s future before millions of votes have been cast.”

The letter seeks a debate added before Sept. 4 or to have the final debate moved to the first week in September.

There was no immediate response from the Biden campaign or the commission.

With mail-in voting likely to be the norm this year, the Trump campaign was hoping the gaffe-prone Biden would provide a talking point early on.

The letter urged the commission to finalize debate logistics and develop backup plans for a “simple studio format with no audience” as an emergency backup.