President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign on Monday protested the topics of the final presidential debate, claiming in a letter that the issues set for the showdown diverted from a central theme previously agreed on by the two campaigns.
The letter, addressed to the Commission on Presidential Debates and signed by Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, insisted that the final debate focus on foreign policy, claiming the campaigns had agreed on the topics months ago. But Biden’s campaign retorted that the campaigns and the commission “agreed months ago that the debate moderator would choose the topics.”
“The Trump campaign is lying about that now because Donald Trump is afraid to face more questions about his disastrous COVID response,” Biden campaign spokesman TJ Ducklo said. “As usual, the president is more concerned with the rules of a debate than he is getting a nation in crisis the help it needs.”
The Commission on Presidential Debates also noted last month that the moderators alone choose the questions of the debate, and that the candidates and the commission do not know them until they are asked on stage.
The commission announced Friday that NBC News correspondent Kristen Welker, who will moderate the debate, plans to focus on climate change, the coronavirus pandemic, race and national security, as well as abstract ideas such as “leadership” and “American families.”
The Trump campaign’s letter acknowledged that the topics were “worthy of discussion,” but said they were already covered during the first presidential debate last month. That debate, which was marred with unfiltered crosstalk and personal insults, prompted the commission to announce changes to the format of future debates so the public could better understand the candidates’ positions.
Stepien accused the commission of shielding Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, from having to speak about his foreign policy record. His letter derided Biden’s record as vice president and evoked a frequently repeated Trump campaign line that Biden used his office for personal financial benefit from foreign actors. The Biden campaign has repeatedly dismissed the claims as a smear campaign.
“It is completely irresponsible for the Commission to alter the focus of this final debate just days before the event, solely to insulate Biden from his own history,” Stepien’s letter said.
The letter also suggested Trump was eager to tout his own diplomatic successes at the debate, including overseeing a peace deal between Israel and Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
The Commission on Presidential Debates did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump and his campaign have frequently claimed the commission is working to bolster Biden, particularly after debate organizers announced the second presidential face-off would be held remotely. That decision was largely ascribed to Trump’s positive coronavirus test, but the president refused to debate Biden via computer. The two candidates ended up participating in separate but overlapping town halls.
Trump has also personally ridiculed debate moderators, claiming they’re biased against him. He went after Welker on Saturday, tweeting that she’s “terrible & unfair.” Trump shared a New York Post article that claimed to expose ties between Welker and the Democratic Party, citing her parents’ donations to Democratic candidates and a past registration with the party.
An NBC spokesperson afterward said Welker was no longer affiliated with a party and pointed out that Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller had called her “very fair” and “a very good choice” to moderate the debate.
Christopher Cadelago contributed reporting.
