New York Times columnist urges Biden not to debate Trump unless POTUS agrees to 'two conditions'
By: Joseph Wulfsohn (Fox News)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman is urging Joe Biden not to participate in the three upcoming debates with President Trump unless the president agrees to "two conditions" Friedman has proposed.
"I worry about Joe Biden debating Donald Trump. He should do it only under two conditions. Otherwise, he's giving Trump unfair advantages," Friedman began his column Tuesday evening.
Friedman said the "conditions" should be that Trump must release his tax returns from 2016 to 2018, and that both campaigns should agree on having a "real-time fact-checking team" hired by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.
The columnist suggested "10 minutes before the scheduled conclusion of the debate, this team report on any misleading statements, phony numbers or outright lies either candidate had uttered. That way no one in that massive television audience can go away easily misled."
"Debates always have ground rules. Why can't telling the truth and equal transparency on taxes be conditions for this one?" Friedman asked.
The Times columnist said the debates will not be a "good way" for Biden to "reintroduce himself" to the American people -- particularly during the coronavirus outbreak when the former vice president has largely hunkered down in his Delaware home instead of being out on the campaign trail.
"He should not go into such a high-stakes moment ceding any advantages to Trump," Friedman wrote. "Trump is badly trailing in the polls, and he needs these debates much more than Biden does to win over undecided voters.
He added: "So Biden needs to make Trump pay for them in the currency of transparency and fact-checking -- universal principles that will level the playing field for him and illuminate and enrich the debates for all citizens."
Friedman said Trump's rejection of such conditions would only backfire on him since he would then be seen as opposing transparency and fact-checking. He went on to suggest that the president is withholding his financial records that could expose ties to Russian banks, which in turn could have ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Only if leading into the debate, American voters have a clear picture of Trump's tax returns alongside Biden's, and only if, coming out of the debate, they have a clear picture of who was telling the truth and who was not, will they be able to make a fair judgment between the two candidates," Friedman added.
"That kind of debate, and only that kind of debate, would be worthy of voters' consideration and Biden's participation. Otherwise, Joe, stay in your basement."
Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News. Follow him on Twitter @JosephWulfsohn.
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The left is petrified of Biden debating Trump. There are 3 debates scheduled. The piece by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman will be the first of many by the media to try and convince the Biden campaign not to debate Trump. The two conditions Friedman is calling for are straw men. He is giving the incoherent Biden a way out.
What are the odds that Biden never debates Trump?
IF you are scared to debate Donald Trump, you should not be eligible for the Presidency.
In a nut shell, they don't want Biden debating Trump unless Trump will let him win.
Trump will blow it and start speaking the gibberish he has been getting away with for so long.
As a result he will lose even more past supporters (he really is seriously insane).
Then there is absolutely no point in any conditions.
Damn New York Times writer--getting the folks all riled up when they admit it won't make any difference!
Y R U Afraid of Trump being FACT CHECKED ? Why is Trump terrified of his tax records being released ? WTF is wrong with the Right so far behind the reality of times, and , how many more,....Times ?
I love how funny you are!
There have been something like 15 sets of televised general election presidential debates since 1960. Trump is by far the worst debater to appear in any of them. Hillary Clinton easily beat Trump in all 3 debates in 2016.
But because the media wanted to keep the election close, some of them gave Trump credit for "holding his own" even though he was woefully short of facts, or even a professional, coherent, presentation.
The same will probably happen this year.
There will be debates though, the public expects it and it will happen. Biden will be fine, and Trump will be a jackass, and the media will say Trump is a "fighter".
I just hope your'e right, John. I want the debates.
Reason #427 of "Why Hillary Lost"!
Hillary lost due to many Russian propaganda campaigns against her over many years. And the right wingers just hit the repeat button not even caring that they were going along with Putin's plans. Putin feared Hillary and knew he could punk and blackmail Trump.
Hillary still won the popular vote.
In this day and age of technology, there is no need for the antiquated and corrupt electoral college.
Nothing but guesses.
Gee, that makes it sound like perhaps Putin's efforts weren't nearly as successful as you profess them to be.
Also, irrelevant.
I find it hard to accept whining about the EC four years later because you didn't like the outcome in 2016.
I've seen the idiocy of the EC for many years now. The corruption is rampant.
The supreme court recently enacted law to reign in the EC corruption.
The EC should be done away with. One person, one vote!
Sorry, the leftist coasts will not dictate to rest of the US.
The electoral college is set up for a reason. To make sure fly over country will always be relevant.
And I am sure you have SOME proof of all that corruption you now claim, right?
Wanna share it?
because without any sources to back you up, it is an empty, meaningless, false claim.
Really? And what did SCOTUS do to reign in all that horrible corruption? Can you cite the decision, and what in the decision specifically fights corruption?
Got any FACTS?
Perhaps your time would be better spent starting to get an Amendment than writing here.
Trump can't debate. He doesn't know anything. Without the teleprompter all Trump can do is attack, lie and make things up. Hell, doesn't matter, that's what he does anyway.
I remember when I was hoping somebody named Rubio or Cruz would win the GOP nomination. Rubio melted down before our eyes and I'll defy anyone to honestly remember (without Googling it) how Cruz tried to deal with Trump!
Trump's "Little Marco" carried the day for the NY money launderer. He's a one trick pony. His presumed cleverness is no longer clever. Trump is also worn, afraid and paranoid. Trump had very few close friends and many of them have turned away. There is a reason for this and the reason is the man himself.
Actually it was Chris Christie who destroyed the junior Senator from Florida.
I hate to watch it again, but here:
(note the mention of Biden!)
Trump's growing insanity becomes more apparent every day.
How could even his most staunch supporters not notice this trend?
You mean like Joe's Dementia? The fact that they won't let him out in public except for short tightly scripted releases to only sympathetic media.
How did Joe do during those Democratic primary debates? Look a little feeble minded, lost, an easy target for all of the other nominees?
Covid 19 is the best thing that could ever happen for feeble minded Joe. It ended the primaries early saving him from further beat downs. It also allows him an excuse to hide from the world while his attack dogs on the left and in the media go after Trump.
Then pretty stupid and unnecessary for the author to call for any "conditions".
Trump's penchant for lying is exactly why there should be fact checkers.
Yawn.
SOSDD
Thats why they need a fact checker on scene.
they need a fact checker on scene
Yeah, a liar like Candy Crowley to team up with Biden to save him like she did with Obama.
In what world are fact checkers non-partisan? They are opinion pundits, and almost uniformly liberal.
Fact check this John. You remember when Biden said "You're not getting the $1 billion unless you get rid of the General Prosecutor"?
Well, this video doesn't start with that. It just starts with a bunch of phony people, but it ends with a crook and liar. It's a good fact checker?
Did Biden really say what was on that video or did he say something else?
How is the commie hunting going?
So you think Trump should be allowed to come into a presidential debate and lie his ass off and no one should say anything in real time?
You guys all have this same delusion that people should trust what Donald Trump says. It is absurd. He can make ten statements. Half of them may be true. Certainly no more than half, but which ones? How is the average under- informed voter to know? You want to unleash a habitual liar unto a presidential debate stage as if it were as normal as shuffling papers.
They need fact checkers.
I think an informed debater should be able to tear him apart if he lies.
if Biden can’t handle trump without help from the media, he can’t handle the presidency.
Trumps counter demands: no moderators, Biden’s Delaware records for Tara Reade, Biden’s info on his and Hunters dealings in Ukraine.
That was quite the film you put together. Well done my friend. I enjoyed it thoroughly!
To think that Biden went completely unscathed from all of that. The American media degenerates did it again!
That's the catch 22 - It doesn't matter who makes the demands - the objective is to use them as an excuse for Biden to not debate.
As far as Trump's tax returns go - The SCOTUS will give us the answer tomorrow by 10:AM, not that it means anything anymore.
The public relations hit Biden would take for openly skipping the three scheduled formal debates might be greater than a poor debate performance. Pressure would build on him if he skipped one and then the pressure to do well in only one or two would be greater.
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Thank you Vic. They want fact checkers, Heartland. That video is pretty much a fact checker in itself. We all heard him talking, including Kerry, whose stepson, Hunter and Archer were partners in Rosemont Seneca. There is plenty more than what we've seen here.
I was going to end the video until Pelosi said "The fact that Joe Biden is Joe Biden. He is the personification of Hope and Optimism and Authenticity for our country", I couldn't let that go, so I spent too much time trying to figure how I could cut the length down and still get the point across. I left out many things in this video and of course we all know many things that could have also been put in it as well.
I keep telling myself, people can't be that stupid to not be able to use their common sense and see right through these people, but I guess they can. And then there are those who are not stupid, but just as deceitful as their party leaders.
Those people are so transparently phony, it's pathetically sickening to listen to them. All those Senators making their little speeches. Who the hell wants people to lead this country. They do not care about anyone, but themselves.
Actually, they are desperate, very desperate. This election is a life or death sentence for their party, because if Trump gets re-elected, they along with some Republicans and other non elected officials are gong to be well done and served to the people in this country and they know it.
I've said it many times before and I'll say it again. The Democrats are very transparent. All you have to do is use this formula. Anytime the Democrats accuse you of doing something, it is they who are the guilty ones. Works every time.
With Trump and his non-stop lies, they'll need a whole platoon of fact checkers.
Seems, historically that liberals have a better grasp on the truth than do fascists.
Even so, the media as you can already see is already constructing excuses for him.
Yeah, but there is no excuse for Trump's BS!
We have to put a name on that formula. I'm thinking of naming it after a certain libertarian who likes wearing striped ties.
Thank you.
Funny, we ask the left that every day.
I don't know what happened to the video, but here it is again.
As I heard yesterday, Trump and Biden would debate for about 45 minutes. The first 45 seconds Biden would maintain some semblance of having adequate cognitive skills. The other 44 minutes and 15 seconds, he'd be completely overwhelmed and maybe forget where he is and why he's there.
Then, fact checkers would come out on stage and report all of Trump's lies, completely ignoring Biden's debilitating dementia. Talk about a stacked deck, a debate with fact checkers would fit the bill and later on each of the fact checkers would become paid fact checkers on CNN, you know, kind of like John Brennan.
It sounds comical, yet all of that is real. The Biden campaign would have to back away from the three debates since they have already agreed to them. His poll numbers have gone from an incredible 14 point lead to a mere 4 point lead. As long as poll numbers are close, I believe the Biden campaign will reluctantly subject their dysfunctional candidate for 3 debates.
Biden isn't running for President because he wants to do it. He has to do it. We've seen how phony and deceitful these people are. Think of the Mafia. He's been called upon to run for President.
Remember their Primary? Now tell me, how did Biden even win the Primary? Basically, everyone just dropped out and they gave it to him. Kind of like when they chose Obama over Hillary. That's when they fully realized the power of the word "Racist" and how it could be used from then own.
Moderate democrats chose Biden over all the radicals. Oddly enough, Biden is taking on more & more of the hard left agenda every day.
I think fact checkers should be required at all presidential debates! Maybe they should be required at all political debates. What a wonderful idea.
How do you fact check in real time? Do you sit there and just google away and hope you make a correction before the next question?
If past is prologue the fact checkers could just lay on the buzzer whenever Trump is talking...
If Trump's mouth is open, he's lying. He just can't help himself. It's compulsive.
Or maybe simply lie about him, right?
That's a great fear for some of the worst people in the country. It's a great weapon.
You mean kind of like this....
Most of what Trump says is so absurd that it would be easy to pick them out. A quick google would get the exact facts and statistics to refute it. It would be good for people to hear reality as quickly as possible.
(Besides, it would be funny to watch Trump try to spin out of one lie followed by another.)
Thanks for that. Some jokes sure do stand the test of time.
Actually it's not. The kind of thing that Trump gets mired down in is saying something that may be technically incorrect but for the most part true. For instance I heard him last night make the case about deaths from the coronavirus being down and under reported. All he need do is pull some gut driven percentage out of the middle of his head and we have some Trump hating fact checker labeling the comment false, yet we all know the virus death rate is way down.
On the other hand you have Joe Biden who can't complete a simple sentence or express a single thought on any subject!
Which do you think is going to make the bigger impression on the audience?
Tucker Carlson began Wednesday's edition of "Tucker Carlson Tonight" by drawing attention to the suggestion that presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden will refuse to debate President Trump this fall, an idea the host called "the most cynical election strategy ever devised."
Carlson noted that New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman is the most prominent media voice to espouse this plan, and suggested that Biden and his campaign could well take Friedman's advice.
"Imagine Biden spending six hours on stage with Donald Trump trading jabs on live television," Carlson asked his audience. "Oh, he can't do that. So he's not going to do that. Instead, they're going to keep Joe Biden hidden behind a curtain ... It's all pretty shocking if you think about it."
According to Carlson, the idea that Biden might skip the debates sums up the worldview espoused by his supporters on the left.
"When you criticize them, they won't engage with you. They don't bother to rebut your point. They attack you," he said. "Joe Biden himself attacked this show today, in fact. He didn't respond to the questions that we raised, he just called us names and then his minions tried to pull us off the air.
"We survived," Carlson added, "because thank God we work here [at Fox News]."
Carlson said Biden's criticism of his program is a precursor to how the former senator and vice president will govern as America's chief executive.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/tucker-carlson-biden-trump-end-of-debate
You caught it too? I guess we're in the Carlson class these days.
I make a point of never missing his show.
It shows. Tucker, like Trump, hasn't told the truth in many years.
You should have taken notes from the Rubio clip. You have become very redundant.
Those both seem like pretty reasonable demands especially considering we are talking about Trump! Or else, I guess that Trump can just lie to the cameras all by himself. He is good at that. Besides, there is no good reason for Joe to even get down in the mud with Trump when Joe is clearly pulling ahead and is already winning by double digits ..
I have a couple of demands myself. One is that anyone running for President must know what state he's in and what day it is. I think most of the voters will agree with me.
It's OK - I know what state Trump is in.
"Orderly, orderly - the patient in 1600PA needs an emergency high colonic. Make it a Venti® Cold - no - no - better make it a Trenta®.
STAT!!!!
Put out that cigarette ! - Oh no
Oh the humanity. ..
OK - the two main conditions:
1. Both must wear a mask. Trump may opt for clear plastic.
2. Both must be locked in their respective cages (provided by ICE)
You got one word right - Order
Want to make some rules for debates?
How about giving the list of questions in advance--say 5 topics or so.
Moderators would get to ask follow-up questions, and any time a debater goes off topic, kill his mike!