Biden camp shares list of demands ahead of debate with Donald Trump, Internet says 'already sounds shady'

WASHINGTON, DC: President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have officially agreed to face each other for presidential debates on Wednesday, May 15, but the incumbent's team has presented a list of demands for the events, Fox News reports.

Biden's announcement of accepting Trump's challenge to debate anytime anywhere was accompanied by a letter from his campaign to the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), detailing the critical limits to be placed on any debate between the two contenders.

Biden camp demands no-fuss debate with Trump

Criticizing the CPD for turning debates into "huge spectacles with large audiences," team Biden insisted that the upcoming debates take place in a television studio in the presence of the two candidates and the moderator.

"The debates should be conducted for the benefit of the American voters, watching on television and at home — not as entertainment for an in-person audience with raucous or disruptive partisans and donors, who consume valuable debate time with noisy spectacles of approval or jeering. As was the case with the original televised debates in 1960, a television studio with just the candidates and moderators is a better, more cost-efficient way to proceed: focused solely on the interests of voters," read the letter.

Team Biden bans RFK Jr from presidential debate

"The debates should be one-on-one, allowing voters to compare the only two candidates with any statistical chance of prevailing in the Electoral College — and not squandering debate time on candidates with no prospect of becoming President," wrote Biden's team.

In response, Robert F Kennedy Jr took to X (formerly Twitter) and alleged collusion between the Democratic and GOP candidates to keep him off the stage as they were "afraid I would win."

Biden camp shortlists outlets eligible to host a debate

Team Biden lined out the criteria that are required to be met by a news outlet to become eligible for hosting a presidential debate, writing, "It should be hosted by any broadcast organization that hosted a Republican Primary debate in 2016 in which Donald Trump participated, and a Democratic primary debate in 2020 in which President Biden participated — so neither campaign can assert that the sponsoring organization is obviously unacceptable: if both candidates have previously debated on their airwaves, then neither could object to such venue."

The networks that reportedly made the cut following this rule are CNN, ABC, CBS and Telemundo.

Microphones to be muted after speaking time for candidate expires

Slamming the extensive crosstalk and interruptions that took place in the presidential debates between the two candidates back in 2020, the incumbent's campaign called for the microphones of speakers to be muted after the allotted time for them expires.

"There should be firm time limits for answers, and alternate turns to speak — so that the time is evenly divided and we have an exchange of views, not a spectacle of mutual interruption. A candidate’s microphone should only be active when it is his turn to speak, to promote adherence to the rules and orderly proceedings," read the letter.

The demands placed before the CPD have been accepted by Trump, and the first debate is set to be hosted by CNN on June 27.

Internet believes Team Biden's demands are 'all about gaining advantage'

Internet thinks Biden's team is being extra careful and accused the President of being afraid of debating Donald Trump. 

"Honestly, both sides always have a list of demands for debates. It's all about trying to gain any advantage they can," wrote an X-user reacting to the news.

"Take off the training wheels," jibed another.

"Of course they did! They cannot win, so they're desperate," stated a third, taking on team Biden.

"I guess Trump will be debating the teleprompter," quipped a fourth.

"Absolutely nothing wrong with ANY of those demands. They make for far better debates," expressed a fifth.

One user said, "No crowd really? Already sounds shady."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.