If any of you follow this editor on Twitter you know she was not happy with Trump not debating. Fine, I’ll write this in first person … -I- was not happy with Trump refusing to debate. To be honest and fair, I’m still not thrilled HOWEVER, this thread from John Hayward about why it seems this was actually a good move for Trump is pretty damn spot-on.
That doesn’t mean I don’t still want to see Trump debate, though.
Take a look at this:
And yet Trump’s unwillingness to debate doesn’t seem to have hurt his polling very much. It won’t hurt Biden when he refuses to debate Trump either, and Trump will look ridiculous trying to hector Biden for refusing to face him. Maybe debates are just going out of style. https://t.co/2ICKAZNYxN
— John Hayward (@Doc_0) December 1, 2023
Bingo.
All along, one of the biggest fears with Trump not debating was that he couldn’t heckle Biden when Biden refused. But to Hayward’s point, maybe debates are going out of style. Do they actually change anyone’s minds?
To be honest, we traditionally expect candidates to debate each other – it’s a time-honored element of our election contests – but in today’s political climate, it’s not so clear who the audience…
Read the full article here