Since the current calendar of primaries and civic assemblies (caucuses) to designate the candidate for the American presidency was consolidated in the 1970s, there has never been a situation like this year's, namely that At the beginning of March all the fish were sold. Indeed, barring an unlikely cataclysm on the part of one of the two sides, President Biden and former President Trump will star in the rematch of the elections four years ago.
To prevent the only thing that brings the electorate out of lethargy in these almost eight months that remain until the decisive day of November 5, are the physical stumbles of the president or the judicial ones of the former president, both campaign teams will have to sharpen their ingenuity and one of The transcendental decisions they will have to make is whether or not to maintain the televised debates. Legendarily inaugurated by Jack Kennedy and Dick Nixon in 1960, they were not resumed until 1976, but they have been a constant since then and no candidate, Democrat or Republican, has dared to refuse to participate in them.
The truth is that the public tends to stay with anecdotes more than with thoughtful content or political initiatives. Many people remember, for example, that Trump called Hillary Clinton disgusting in 2016 ("Such a disgusting woman") or that Biden called Trump a clown ("You're a clown") in 2020, but not much else. of those confrontations, yes, in the face of a dog.
The fact is that the debates between the long dozen Republican candidates who aspired to the presidential nomination in 2016 were transcendental for the triumph of the New York real estate businessman, who prevailed with his lacking and arrogant style over politicians who were in principle more qualified than him, like Governors Jeb Bush or John Kasich or Senators Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio. It is obvious that Trump was favored by his extensive experience in television, thanks to the reality show he hosted for years, The Apprentice.
This year, however, Trump decided not to participate in any of the debates to decide the Republican candidate, in what seemed like a risky decision that has nevertheless been crowned with success. In retrospect, it seems evident that his control over the Republican bases was and is so strong that he did not need any televised debate to ratify his dominance. Indeed, he has won the Republican nomination without practically getting off the bus.
Therefore, President Biden would theoretically be entitled to refuse to debate on this occasion, unlike what happened four years ago, when the pandemic limited televised face-to-face meetings to two. Held on September 29 in Cleveland and on October 22 in Nashville, they were so harsh that the organizers were forced in the second to momentarily silence the candidates' microphones to avoid continuous interruptions.
But Biden won't do it. He does indeed run the risk of some major mistake revealing his alleged mental fragility before a massive audience, but the greater risk is that of being labeled a coward by an adversary who has never held back when it comes to insults and disqualification. And the opposite could also happen, that is, that Trump, seeing himself as the winner, would refuse to debate, worried that some outburst or obvious lie would keep him from victory. Possible, but unlikely. Today, this chronicler's bet is that there will be debates, but until autumn, which is when they usually take place, there is an eternity.
