Joseph R. Biden said Thursday that he’s itching for the presidential debates, despite a warning from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said earlier in the day that appearing on stage with President Trump would “legitimize” the president.
“As long as the commission continues down the straight and narrow as they have, I’m going to debate him,” the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee told MSNBC. “I’m going to be a fact-checker on the floor while I’m debating him.”
He made the challenge shortly after Mrs. Pelosi, the country’s highest-ranking Democrat, made the case for a debate-free 2020 race.
Mr. Trump doesn’t deserve to be on the debate stage, she said.
“I don’t think the president of the United States has comported himself in a way that has any association with truth, evidence, data and facts. I wouldn’t legitimize a conversation with him,” she said. “I think he will also belittle what the debates are supposed to be about. And they’re not supposed to be about skullduggery.”
Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, went on to accuse Mr. Trump of “stalking” rival Hillary Clinton during one of their 2016 debates, where they were able to walk freely around the stage.
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The House speaker suggested that Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump should debate remotely, each on their own stage at separate town-hall-style events.
She acknowledged that Mr. Biden had a different opinion.
Mr. Biden, 77, who served eight years as vice president under President Obama, has mostly stayed out of sight during the Republican National Convention this week.
The convention contained “one lie after another,” he said in the TV interview.
“I think everybody knows this man has a somewhat pathological tendency not to tell the truth,” he said. “But the debates are going to take place.”
Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump are expected to participate in three debates before the Nov. 3 election.
The first debate is set for Cleveland at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic on Sept. 29.
Republicans seized on Mrs. Pelosi’s comments, saying they illustrate that Mr. Biden is a weak candidate.
“Joe Biden’s not going to leave his basement for the debates. We’ve set this out as a possibility for a time now, but this is a pretty clear indication he will remain in hiding until Election Day,” Jason Miller, a Trump campaign adviser, said in a Twitter post.
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel chimed in on Twitter: “If Biden cannot debate, he has no business being President!!”
On Wednesday, Mr. Trump demanded that Mr. Biden be drug-tested before their first debate, despite having no evidence that the former vice president has been using substances.
He made a similar accusation about Mrs. Clinton in 2016.
• Andrew Blake contributed to this report.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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