RNC Threatens Commission on Presidential Debates: We’ll Advise Candidates Not to Debate Unless Changes Are Made
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On Tuesday, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel fired off a missive to the Commission on Presidential Debates, demanding changes to the way the organization operates. Failure to do so, she said, will result in the RNC advising future Republican nominees not to participate in general election debates.
“The Republican Party needs assurances that the CPD will make meaningful reforms to the debate process by working with stakeholders to restore the faith and legitimacy it has lost,” the statement said. “If not, as RNC Chairman, I will have no choice but to advise future Republican candidates against participating in CPD-hosted debates.”
McDaniel’s letter cited several perceived problems with the way the CPD conducted last year’s debates. Her beefs include, among other complaints, the fact that the first debate was held after early voting had started in several states, the ideological makeup of the commission’s board members, and the CPD’s selection of C-SPAN’s Steve Scully as moderator for the second debate. Scully briefly worked as an intern for Joe Biden in the late 1970s.
The second 2020 presidential debate, to be held in Miami, FL, was canceled. About two weeks before it was to take place, the White House announced that Trump had contracted Covid-19, after which Trump was hospitalized. In response, the CPD announced that the second debate would be held virtually. This, however, was a nonstarter for Trump, who withdrew from the event.
McDaniel’s letter also complained about the pandemic plexiglass affixed to the lecterns just before the second (and what was to be the third) debate:
Then, when it held the October 22 debate, the CPD made an amateur error that nearly derailed the debate itself. On his walkthrough, President Trump noticed that the CPD had installed plexiglass shields without informing the candidates. Thanks to his background in television, the President realized that the candidates would see only their reflections once the stage was lit and the debate began. Had it not been caught by the President of the United States, the CPD’s unforced error would have caused a surprising and awkward distraction for both candidates once the cameras started to roll.
If the RNC acts on its threat to merely advise the party’s future presidential nominees to boycott debates, the candidates would be under no obligation to do so. Moreover, a candidate shunning debates altogether would be quite a gamble, especially since the next Republican nominee will be the challenger and less of a household name than Joe Biden.
Unless, of course, that challenger has already occupied the White House.
