'It’s a setup': Internet divided as Joe Biden declines additional NBC and Telemundo debates against Trump

WASHINGTON, DC: Former President Donald Trump's campaign states that it accepted invitations for two additional debates, but President Joe Biden's campaign declined them on Friday, May 17th, as per NBC News.

One proposal involved a presidential debate hosted by NBC News and Telemundo, while the other was a vice presidential debate hosted by Fox News, set to take place at historically Black Virginia State University.

President Biden declines additional debates by NBC and Telemundo against Trump

On Friday, May 17, Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social, "I have accepted a fourth Presidential Debate against Crooked Joe Biden, this time with NBC & Telemundo. It is important as Republicans that we WIN with our Great Hispanic Community, which Biden has devastated with Crippling Inflation, High Gas Prices, Crime in our Streets, and Border Chaos."

He added, "This is all in addition to our accepting an invitation from Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum of Fox News to host the Vice Presidential Debate at Virginia State University, or another venue, in Virginia, to be named later."

Notably, an NBC News representative said that the network had sent an invitation to both camps for a debate. 

Trump seemed to be deliberately provoking the Biden campaign by accepting debates that could have widened their audience reach, particularly among Latino and Black communities.

A Biden campaign official declared, "The debate about debates is over. No more games." The Trump campaign criticized Biden's decision in a statement released on Friday night.

Campaign spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez said, "The Telemundo/NBC debate would be widely watched by Hispanic voters, but Biden’s handlers are petrified to allow him to defend his disastrous record. Crooked Joe Biden is too 'cobarde' to address the Hispanic community and answer for his failures on the debate stage!"

It's worth mentioning that the Trump and Biden campaigns opted for two presidential debates this week, bypassing the customary Commission on Presidential Debates procedure.

The first will be held by CNN in Atlanta on June 27 and the second by ABC News in an undisclosed location on September 10.

Additionally, the Trump campaign has yet to accept the invitation from Fox News for a vice presidential debate, while the Biden campaign has already agreed to participate.

Internet shares mixed reactions as Biden rejects additional debates against Trump

People on the internet remained divided with their opinions as Joe Biden's campaign declined additional debates against Donald Trump. 

A user posted on X, "Queue up the Rocky music," while one added, "The only way he could win is by rigging it… again!"

A person also wrote, "Won’t be a debate with Trump in prison," whereas one mentioned, "Trump should begin his opening statement say something to the effect of, 'They are going to replace him after tonight, this debate is pointless. But let’s do it anyway.'" [sic]

A user also said, "I’ve been saying for the beginning that it’s a setup because they want to get rid of Joe Biden and replace him with someone else."

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.