House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday suggested that former Vice President Joe Biden cancel his three planned debates with President Trump because the commander-in-chief would “despise” the forum and engage in “guilt”.
“I do not think there should be debates,” Pelosi said out of the blue at a news conference in the Capitol, saying they do not want the debates to be “an exercise in guilt.”
“I would not legitimize a conversation with him, nor a debate in terms of the presidency of the United States. Now I know that the Biden campaign is thinking about this in a different way.”
Pelosi is the latest incumbent Democrat to offer important advice to the former vice president. Earlier this week, former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton of 2016 said Biden should not concede the race under any circumstances.
Pelosi made the comment at her weekly news conference, without comment, and her advice was not in response to a question about debates. She called Trump’s “disgraceful” behavior during the 2016 debate when he “stalked” Clinton as one reason Biden should break with tradition and sit down with the debates.
“That I think he will probably act in a way that is beneath the dignity of the presidency; he does that every day,” Pelosi said. “But I think it’s also going to be smaller where the debates are going to be about. And they are not going to be about guilt on the part of someone who has no respect for the office he holds, let alone the democratic process. .
“Why else would he try to undermine the election the way he does? So, when Joe Biden asked me what I thought about it, [I’d say] I do not think he should be worthy of that conversation with Donald Trump. “
The Biden campaign already agreed in September and October with three debates in a letter to the Commission on presidential debates, in addition to a vice-presidential debate.
“Joe Biden looks forward to confronting Donald Trump in a multi-debate series that the American people came to expect from their leaders; we hope President Trump would not break that tradition or make excuses for refusing to participate, “Biden Campaign Manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a June letter.
The first debate is scheduled for 29 September.
Fox News’ Madeleine Rivera contributed to this report.
