Truthout
Presidential Debates
![Former President Donald Trump pauses for cheers from the crowd before speaking as the keynote speaker at the 56th Annual Silver Elephant Dinner hosted by the South Carolina Republican Party on August 5, 2023, in Columbia, South Carolina.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/08/2023_0810-trump-b-400x300.jpg)
Trump Won’t Pledge to Support Eventual GOP Nominee If It’s Not Him
Trump's refusal to sign the pledge puts the Republican National Committee in a difficult position.
![Donald Trump exits a stage](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/07/2023_0712-trump-leave-400x300.jpg)
The First GOP Debate Is Designed to Boost Trump — and He May Not Even Attend
Trump will do anything — including sabotaging the first debate night — to keep the spotlight firmly on himself.
![Then-President Donald Trump, left, and Democratic Presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden participate in the final presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 22, 2020.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2023/01/2023_0124debate-400x300.jpg)
The RNC Is Already Warning Its Nominee Will Boycott 2024 Presidential Debate
Televised debates are already skewed toward the right, commentators say.
![President Donald Trump speaks during the first presidential debate against former Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University on September 29, 2020, in Cleveland, Ohio.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/04/2022_0414-donald-trump-debate-400x300.jpg)
RNC Unanimously Votes to Withdraw From Presidential Debate Commission
The committee said it will only allow candidates to participate in party-sanctioned debates from now on.
![President Donald Trump participates in the first presidential debate against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University on September 29, 2020, in Cleveland, Ohio.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2021/12/2021_1201-donald-trump-d-400x300.jpg)
Mark Meadows Reveals Trump Tested Positive for COVID Ahead of First Debate
After Trump tested negative for COVID in a second test done shortly after the positive one, he continued campaigning.
![U.S. troops take part in live fire exercises at the Drawsko Pomorskie training grounds on August 11, 2020, at Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2020/10/2020_1029-military-400x300.jpg)
War Wasn’t a Campaign Issue. What Does That Mean for the Next Presidency?
It is an indication that the U.S. war industry has flourished regardless of who occupies the White House.
![People receive food at the Thessalonica Christian Church during a distribution on October 17, 2020, in New York City.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2020/10/GettyImages-1280797625-400x300.jpg)
Candidates Focus on the Middle Class, But They Must Also Tackle Deep Poverty
Biden and Trump spent too much time discussing the “struggling middle class” instead of those at the very bottom.
![President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden participate in the first presidential debate at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University on September 29, 2020, in Cleveland, Ohio.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2020/10/2020_1022-debate-400x300.jpg)
Don’t Blame the Moderator. Presidential Debates Are Set Up to Be a Charade.
The format ensures candidates don’t have to tackle real questions from journalists or third-party candidates.
![Donald Trump and Joe Biden debate at podiums](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2020/09/2020_0930-debate1-400x300.jpg)
That Was Not a Debate. That Was a Warning. This Nation Is Not Well.
Disappointments from Biden wither to ash before the blast furnace of Trump's brazen, shameless, racist fascism.
![President Trump participates in the first presidential debate against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University on September 29, 2020, in Cleveland, Ohio.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2020/09/2020_0930-trump-s-400x300.jpg)
Trump’s Refusal to Condemn Proud Boys at Debate Reflects His Electoral Strategy
Trump “has long had an unspoken alliance with them,” counter-far right researcher and activist Spencer Sunshine said.