Former President Donald Trump said Monday he wants a debate with President Joe Biden months ahead of the end of the primary season and the start of the general election.
Trump challenged Biden on Monday during an appearance on The Dan Bongino Show. After winning contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, Trump is still facing a challenge from his former U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley, in the GOP primary. But he has his sights set on Biden.
“He can’t do it, because he can’t talk. He can’t do anything. He’s ruining our country. And I don’t think he’s going to run — I don’t know if it’s donors or otherwise. It might be his family, it might be something,” said Trump, according to the New York Post. “I’d like to debate him now because we should debate for the good of the country.”
Biden responded to Trump while speaking with reporters in Las Vegas.
“If I were him, I’d want to debate me, too. He’s got nothing else to do,” said Biden. The president did not say whether he would accept the invitation to debate.
Trump refused to take part in a series of GOP primary debates, posting on Truth Social in August that “the public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had.”
“I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!” he wrote. During an interview with Fox News in June, he asked host Bret Baier: “Why would I allow people at 1 or 2% and 0% to be hitting me with questions all night?”
In a hypothetical Trump v. Biden matchup in the general election, the former president has been outpolling the current president across several polls. The Real Clear Politics polling average shows Trump leading Biden by more than two points, 46.7 to 44.6.
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The most recent poll in the average, a survey by NBC News, shows Biden polling at the lowest approval rating over his term as the president faces stiff opposition from voters. Just 37% of voters approve of the job Biden is doing as president versus 60% who disapprove, according to the poll.
The poll showed that voters trust Trump over Biden to handle a variety of issues. Respondents to the poll said Trump is stronger than Biden on border security 57% to 22%, handling the economy 55% to 33%, dealing with crime 50% to 29%, and improving the United States’ standing in the world 47% to 36%.
Biden led Trump slightly on the issue of protecting democracy, 43% to 41%. The president also held an edge over Trump on abortion (44%-32%) and protecting the rights of immigrants (48%-31%).
