Former President Donald Trump has consented to a revised debate arrangement for an imminent face-off with President Joe Biden. Typically, the 45th president favors standing during his debates; however, he has agreed to be seated at a table alongside Biden following the campaign’s request from the 81-year-old commander-in-chief, as per the New York Post.
“I hear now we’re sitting at tables. I don’t want to sit at a table,” Trump told John Catsimatidis and Rita Cosby during an appearance on the “Cats & Cosby Show” on WABC 770 AM. “I said, ‘No, let’s stand.’ But they want to sit at a table,” Trump said. “So we’ll be sitting at a table as opposed to doing it the way you should be, in my opinion, in a debate.”
The likely Republican presidential candidate elaborated that he would personally prefer to approach a podium and remain standing for an hour and a half to two hours. “But they have [Biden] sitting at a table, so that’s not so good,” Trump said. “But I agree to their requests because I want to debate him. If [Biden] gets through the debate, they’ll say it was brilliant,” Trump noted further.
The Trump and Biden campaigns have scheduled two debates, one to be hosted by CNN on June 27 and another to be hosted by ABC News on Sept. 10. It is uncertain whether the seated format will be used for both debates. As per the Biden campaign’s request, there will be no live audience present at either forum.
A recent survey has indicated that Trump is maintaining his lead in most of the critical swing states as his campaign progresses towards the summer months and his likely GOP nomination during the Republican Party’s July convention in Milwaukee. According to a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll conducted from May 7th to 13th among registered voters, Trump holds a four-point lead over Biden across all swing states. Specifically, the former president leads by five points in Arizona, seven points in North Carolina, three points in Georgia, two points in Pennsylvania, and one point in Wisconsin.
In Nevada, Trump and Biden are tied, while Biden holds a narrow one-point lead over Trump in Michigan. The poll, which surveyed 4,962 registered swing state voters, has a margin of error of one point. Although Trump leads in most swing states, the race has become more competitive since last month, when he held stronger advantages, particularly in Wisconsin and Georgia, as noted by the Daily Wire.
The survey also revealed a relatively pessimistic outlook on the economy, with 55 percent of respondents stating that the economy in their state is heading in the wrong direction, compared to 45 percent who believe it is moving in the right direction. These poll findings coincide with Trump and the Republican National Committee outpacing Biden and the Democratic National Committee in fundraising last month. This marks a reversal of the trend seen in March when Biden and the Democrats raised more funds than Trump and the Republicans.
