前副总统乔·拜登的竞选团队已经同意在今年秋天与唐纳德·特朗普总统进行三场预定的辩论，并且在竞选团队经理珍·欧玛利·狄龙周一发给总统辩论委员会的一封信中，批评了她所说的特朗普在他愿意参加多少场辩论上立场的转变。
在这封信中，欧玛利·狄龙写道，拜登在今年夏天晚些时候正式成为民主党提名人后，曾受到委员会的正式邀请，他将参加民主党委托的三场辩论，辩论定于9月29日、10月15日和10月22日举行。
2016年10月19日，在拉斯维加斯大学校园托马斯&马克中心举行的最后一场总统辩论中，希拉里·克林顿看着唐纳德·特朗普讲话。马克·罗尔斯顿/法新社通过盖蒂影像公司
拜登的活动经理他警告称，该竞选团队接受了委员会此前提出的参数邀请，不会容忍特朗普竞选团队做出任何重大改变事件的努力。
“乔·拜登将按照委员会的既定形式和委员会对主持人的独立选择，在委员会的日期接受委员会的辩论。唐纳德·特朗普迈克·彭斯也应该这样做，”欧玛利·狄龙写道。
“任何代替这一点的‘辩论提议’都只是试图改变话题，避免辩论，或者制造一场令人分心的‘辩论辩论’”她继续说道。
竞选团队还承诺拜登的竞选伙伴将参加定于10月7日举行的副总统候选人辩论。拜登的竞选伙伴尚未被选定。
美国广播公司上周证实，特朗普总统的连任竞选团队推动增加今年秋季的总统辩论次数，让鲁迪·朱利安尼(Rudy Giuliani)牵头，目标是推进辩论，并帮助挑选主持人，此后，关于即将举行的总统辩论的对话再度升温。
一名竞选官员告诉美国广播公司新闻，朱利安尼和特朗普的竞选经理布拉德·帕斯凯尔在上周四的一次电话会议上推动了民主党联合主席弗兰克·法伦科普夫，要求在提前投票前开始辩论，并举行第四次辩论。
在周一的信中，欧玛利·狄龙指责特朗普是一个“在民意调查中严重落后”的候选人，“不顾一切地想从他失败的国家领导中转移话题”
欧玛利·狄龙写道:“任何人都不应该被愚弄:特朗普竞选团队的新立场会分散辩论的注意力。”。
拜登竞选团队还要求获得更多有关委员会计划的信息，以确保辩论在冠状病毒大流行期间继续进行，这表明拜登和特朗普没有理由不辩论是否采取了适当的预防措施。
“没有什么可以阻止乔·拜登和唐纳德·特朗普在这些日期进行辩论;欧玛利·狄龙在信中强调说:“我们不想给特朗普总统提供任何不辩论的借口。
除了COVID-19相关的担忧，拜登竞选团队还要求第二次总统辩论以市政厅形式举行，就像1992年民主党挑战者比尔·克林顿、商人罗斯·佩罗和时任总统乔治·布什之间的总统选举那样，并强调拜登希望在11月选举前与未表态的选民互动。
“在初选期间，副总统拜登经常欢迎未表态的选民直接提问，我们认为是时候让特朗普总统亲自面对这样的问题了。我们知道选民对总统有很多很多问题，”欧玛利·狄龙写道。
这封周一的信是自特朗普竞选团队推动更多辩论的报道浮出水面以来，拜登竞选团队在上周发布的第二封与辩论相关的截击信。
“我们不会在辩论中坐在特朗普不断变化的竞选立场的过山车上，也不会被他的要求分散注意力，”拜登竞选副竞选经理兼宣传总监凯特·贝丁菲尔德在上周发布的一份声明中写道。
贝丁菲尔德补充道:“我们会让事情变得简单:就像自1992年以来的所有其他民主党和共和党候选人一样，我们会出现在总统辩论委员会设定的辩论中，在他们选择的地点，在他们选择的日期，以他们指定的形式和主持人——只要唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)也这么做，并且不会胁迫委员会改变过去的做法。”。
特朗普竞选团队的一名发言人周一表示，提前开始辩论并举行更多辩论，将让美国人民有更多机会对比两位候选人的就职准备情况。
“很明显，乔·拜登的助手害怕在没有脚本和提词器的情况下把他们的候选人送出去。特朗普的竞选宣传总监蒂姆·墨菲(Tim Murtaugh)在提交给美国广播公司的一份声明中写道:“更早、更长的辩论时间表是必要的，这样美国人就能看到特朗普总统充满活力的领导层和拜登混乱的走神之间的明显区别。”。
Biden campaign commits to 3 debates with Trump, claims president is shifting his stance on debate participation as ‘distraction’
Former vice president Joe Biden’s campaign has agreed to three scheduled debates with President Donald Trump this fall, and in a letter sent to the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) Monday by campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon, criticized what she said was Trump’s shifting stance on how many debates in which he's willing to participate.
In the letter, O’Malley Dillon writes that Biden, once formally invited by the commissioner after he officially becomes the Democratic nominee later this summer, will participate in three CPD-commissioned debates slated for Sept. 29, Oct. 15 and Oct. 22.
Biden’scampaign managercautioned that the campaign was accepting the invitation on the parameters previously laid out by the commission, and would not tolerate any efforts by the Trump campaign to majorly change the events.
“Joe Biden will accept the Commission’s debates, on the Commission’s dates, under the Commission’s established format and the Commission’s independent choice of moderators.Donald Trumpand Mike Pence should do the same,” O’Malley Dillon wrote.
“Any ‘debate proposals’ in lieu of that are just an effort to change the subject, avoid debates, or create a distracting ‘debate about debates.’” she continued.
The campaign also committed to Biden’s running mate, who has yet to be selected, participating in the scheduled vice presidential debate on Oct. 7.
Conversations about the upcoming presidential debates reignited following a push from President Trump's reelection campaign to increase the number of presidential debates this fall, tapping Rudy Giuliani to lead the effort with the goal of also moving up the debates and having a hand in picking the moderators, multiple sources confirmed to ABC News last week.
Giuliani and Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale pushed co-chairman of the CPD Frank Fahrenkopf on a conference call last Thursday for the debates to begin before early voting as well as holding a fourth debate, a campaign official told ABC News.
In her Monday letter, O’Malley Dillon needled Trump as a candidate that is “trailing badly in the polls” and “desperate to change the subject from his failed leadership of the country.”
“No one should be fooled: the Trump campaign’s new position is a debate distraction,” O’Malley Dillon wrote.
The Biden campaign also requested more information on the committee's plans to ensure the debates will go forward in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, suggesting that there should be no reason for Biden and Trump not to debate if proper precautions are undertaken.
“Nothing should prevent the conduct of debates between Joe Biden and Donald Trump on these dates; again, we do not want to provide President Trump with any excuses for not debating,” O’Malley Dillon stressed in the letter.
Aside from the COVID-19 related concerns, the Biden campaign also requested that the second presidential debate be held in a town hall format, as it has since the 1992 presidential election between Democratic challenger Bill Clinton, businessman Ross Perot and then-President George H.W. Bush, and stressed Biden’s desire to interact with uncommitted voters ahead of the November election.
“During his primary campaign, Vice President Biden welcomed direct questions from uncommitted voters on a frequent basis, and we think it is time that President Trump faced such questioning himself. We know that voters have many, many questions for the President,” O’Malley Dillon wrote.
The Monday letter is the second debate-related volley the Biden campaign has issued in the last week since reports of the Trump campaign push for more debates surfaced.
“We are not going to ride the roller coaster of the ever-changing Trump campaign position on debates, nor are we going to be distracted by his demands,” Biden campaign Deputy Campaign Manager and Communications Director Kate Bedingfield wrote in a statement released last week.
“We will make this simple: like every other Democratic and Republican candidate since 1992, we will show up for the debates set by the Commission on Presidential Debates, at the places they have selected, on the dates they have selected, with the formats and moderators they designate -- so long as Donald Trump does the same, and does not intimidate the Commission into changes from past practices,” Bedingfield added.
A spokesman for the Trump campaign on Monday argued that starting debates earlier and holding more of them would give the American people more opportunities to contrast the two candidates' readiness for office.
“It’s pretty obvious that Joe Biden’s handlers are afraid to send their candidate out without a script and teleprompter handy. An earlier and longer debate schedule is necessary so Americans can see the clear difference between President Trump’s vibrant leadership and Biden’s confused meandering," Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh wrote in a statement provided to ABC News.
