Since there has been a television in every American home, there have been presidential debates. American voters practically insist that they see the candidates from each major party side by side, debating the issues they care about that affect the nation. Optics are everything. The debate between a young, vibrant John Kennedy and his older opponent, Richard Nixon, is proof of that. But everybody knows that 2024 is different. The question of whether there will be any presidential debates between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden seems to be the biggest question and the possible reason why is the elephant in the room. 

DONALD TRUMP: "I want to debate Biden. I've put out a call, for the good of the nation, we should debate. Any time, any place!"pic.twitter.com/hbO562XjGd

— Proud Elephant 🇺🇸🦅 (@ProudElephantUS) April 4, 2024

The pressure for at least one 2024 presidential debate is growing. On Tuesday, several major television networks prepared a public letter urging Joe Biden to agree to debate Donald Trump. The Biden campaign has not said much about any possible debates, but Trump offered back in March to debate Biden "anytime, anywhere, and anyplace." In a rare show of unity, ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, and Fox News all encouraged Biden to debate Trump. One of the reasons cited for the importance of a debate, especially in the run-up to this year's election, was the extreme polarization of American voters. The letter reads in part:

If there is one thing Americans can agree on, during this polarized time, it is that the stakes of this election are exceptionally high. There is simply no substitute for the candidates debating with each other, and before the American people, their visions for the future of the nation.

But as you might expect, Democrats are a bit gun-shy about putting Joe Biden on a stage with Donald Trump for roughly 90 minutes. The seemingly agreed-upon response by Democrats when asked about a debate is about Trump's "behavior" and what they describe as "extremist" remarks. The standard Democrat response goes back to January of this year when Senate Democrat Whip Dick Durbin (IL) said: 

I would think twice about it. I’ve been physically present at one of [Trump’s] debates with Hillary Clinton, and I watched him do outrageous things and say outrageous things. It’s just an opportunity for him to display his extremism. 

Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) warned against Biden giving Trump an opportunity to make "hateful, racist remarks." Coons also talked about Trump being able to overcome "media bias." In what universe is the media treating Trump fairly, Sen. Coons?

While the number of debates was stunted in 2020 because of COVID, and Joe Biden did most of his campaigning from his basement, COVID is over, and as former senior Trump advisor Jason Miller stated bluntly, “Biden won’t get away with the basement routine this time." So, what are the Democrats so afraid of? Well, they see the same thing the American people see: a weak, frail president about whom, according to a recent Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 60 percent have doubts regarding his mental acuity. 

7 out of 10 people see Biden as weaker if he doesn’t debate Trump

— 🇺🇸🇺🇸Todd🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@TM72774) April 4, 2024

Biden is rarely seen in public without some sort of "cheat sheet" to get him through the event. As my colleague Bonchie reported, Biden gave a softball interview with Univision, where he continued to repeat lies that have been debunked many times over and talked about...war in Vietnam? Then there are the endless instances of not knowing how to exit a stage, sometimes even with the First Caretaker, Dr. Jill, right behind him, and the slurred, incoherent sentences. My colleague Nick Arama reported that Biden even needed a card to be reminded to greet Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. He also needed to be told where to stand and looked confused when he was saluted during a ceremony on the White House lawn as if he did not know if he should salute back.

The Democrats know full well the mental state of Joe Biden, and they know the American people see it on full display. They may think the excuse of Joe Biden nixing a debate with Trump because of his "behavior" will cut it with the media and with voters. But the pressure from TV networks is not only going away, it will grow. Will they risk it? What must be done to "prepare" Biden for a debate? Would we get "State of the Union" Joe? The same Joe Biden that Sen. Ted Cruz said was "reminiscent of an old, angry man standing on his porch screaming ‘Get off my front lawn!’"

For my money, there is no way Joe Biden will debate Donald Trump, and the reasons are stunningly clear.

Making a political prediction here: IF Biden does not debate Trump -and I don’t expect him to- he will lose the election to Trump. He’s not mentally capable of handling a live, unscripted debate where he would have to think & speak on his own. Even his supporters know this.

— Bobby (@BobbyWilson1004) April 7, 2024