While saying that he intends to debate the Democratic Party nominee in 2020, President Donald Trump on Monday raised the possibility that he might refuse to join in debates run by a special commission which hosts those gatherings, claiming on Twitter that the Commission on Presidential Debates was biased against him.
"The problem is that the so-called Commission on Presidential Debates is stacked with Trump Haters & Never Trumpers," the President said on Twitter, but not naming any specific names at the CPD.
"3 years ago they were forced to publicly apologize for modulating my microphone in the first debate," as the President again fumed about a technical malfunction which temporarily caused issues for his microphone in 2016.
The President's tweets confirmed the basics of a New York Times story from last Friday, which said Mr. Trump is concerned about who the Commission will choose as debate moderators.
In a statement issued Monday which did not reply directly to the President, the Commission gave no sign of abandoning its role from the past eight Presidential elections.
"The televised general election debates are an important part of our democratic process," read a statement issued by the group.
"Since 1988, the Commission on Presidential Debates has conducted 30 general election presidential and vice presidential debates. Our record is one of fairness, balance and non-partisanship," the statement read.
The non-profit group was formed in the late 1980's, and has helped run the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates every four years since then.
The leaders include members of both parties - like Frank Fahrenkopf, Jr., a former chair of the Republican National Committee, and former Democratic National Committee chair Paul Kirk, Jr. - plus a number of former members of Congress from both parties.
The commission has already set the dates for three Presidential debates and one Vice Presidential debate in 2020:
The three 2020 Presidential debates are scheduled for:
September 29 - University of Notre Dame
October 15 - University of Michigan
October 22 - Belmont University (Nashville, Tennessee)
The sole Vice Presidential debate is set for October 7 at the University of Utah.
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