Biden Hits Below The Belt With Swipe At Trump's Legal Turmoil In Debate Challenge
Bright and early on the morning of Wednesday, May 15, 2024, President Joe Biden shared a challenge to his Republican opponent and former President Donald Trump on X, formerly known as Twitter. The incumbent Democrat came out swinging, opting not to mince words about his political opponent's ongoing legal woes taking place in New York City.
"Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020, and since then he hasn't shown up for a debate," Biden said in the social media video. "Now he's acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal. I'll even do it twice. So, let's pick the dates, Donald." Biden ended the video with one last dig at the ex-POTUS: "I hear you're free on Wednesdays."
Biden's final remark was a direct jab at the two criminal trials Trump has faced since the start of 2024 — the most recent of which is the controversial hush money trial taking place in Manhattan. The New York City courts take recess on Wednesdays, hence Biden's comment.
Former President Donald Trump responded in kind on his own social media platform
President Joe Biden might've gotten his verbal one-two punches in early in the morning, but it didn't take long for former President Donald Trump to respond on his own social media platform, Truth Social. "Crooked is also the WORST President in the history of the United States," Trump retorted online (via X). "I would strongly recommend more than two debates and, for excitement purposes, a very large venue, although Biden is supposedly afraid of crowds." Trump offered his own tough-guy quip to Biden's "make my day, pal," with a dramatic, "Let's get ready to Rumble!!"
For now, only two one-on-one debates between Biden and Trump are scheduled ahead of the 2024 presidential election in November. ABC reports that the first will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, and air on CNN on June 27. The second prime-time debate will air on ABC a little over two months later on September 10.
Meanwhile, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy has been excluded from these debate discussions. In a tweet published three hours after Biden's initial video, Kennedy accused both candidates of "colluding" to keep him out of the ring. One week earlier, Kennedy tweeted, "I offer to eat 5 more brain worms and still beat President Trump and President Biden in a debate," referencing the news of his shocking health concerns that included a parasitic worm entering, eating a part of, and then dying inside his brain.