The News
Donald Trump agreed on Friday to a third presidential debate hosted by NBC News as the network continued to scramble to secure a televised debate slot.
This week, the Biden and Trump campaigns announced that they were circumventing the longtime organizer of presidential debate contests, the Commission on Presidential Debates, and agreed to two debates in June and September respectively.
But on Friday, the former president announced on Truth Social that he had agreed to participate in an additional debate, this one hosted by NBC News and Spanish-language network Telemundo.
The third proposed debate caught the Biden campaign by surprise, and was the result of behind-the-scenes discussions between the Trump campaign and NBC News without the Biden team’s participation.
According to one person familiar with the talks, NBC News reached out to the Biden campaign on Wednesday saying it was interested in hosting a debate. It came after the president’s team sent a letter formally withdrawing from participation in the contests hosted by the Commission on Presidential Debates, and suggesting that he would take part in two debates.
But the network was slower than broadcast rivals CNN and ABC News, which within less than two hours had submitted formal requests that were accepted by both campaigns. One person familiar with the discussions told Semafor that the Biden team did not receive an offer from NBC until after the campaign had already agreed to debates with CNN and ABC, and that the offer was not as detailed as those submitted by CNN and ABC.
NBC then turned its attention to seeing if it could secure the broadcast rights for the vice presidential debate, and held what were described by one source as “serious discussions” with Kamala Harris’s team about hosting the contest. But NBC was concerned that potential dates could conflict with its planned Summer Olympics broadcasts, and the network was beaten again after the Biden campaign accepted an offer from CBS News. That debate, however, remains shrouded in uncertainty: Two sources familiar with the discussions told Semafor that the Trump campaign has not accepted the vice presidential debate, hoping to see if it can angle for a contest hosted instead by Fox News.
Puck reported on Wednesday that NBC staff were “blindsided” by the whirlwind sequence of events that left the network without a debate. But the network wasn’t done trying to secure its place at the table. NBC News held unilateral discussions with the Trump campaign about the potential for a third debate, which was quickly accepted by the Republican presidential nominee. It came as a surprise to the Biden campaign, which learned about the proposed debate on Twitter, according to one person familiar with the situation.
Max’s view
It seems unlikely that the proposed NBC debate will actually take place. When asked about it, a spokesperson for the Biden campaign pointed to its letter on Wednesday saying that the president would only participate in two televised contests.
Trump’s announcement Friday seems to serve two purposes. For his campaign, it’s an opportunity to needle Biden, and make the president appear like he is unwilling to debate. As he tries to court nonwhite voters, Trump could point out that the president is unwilling to accept a debate hosted on a Hispanic network. For NBC News, it’s a Hail Mary attempt to secure its own debate slot, lest the network be forced to simulcast the CNN or ABC News debates, which both networks have offered. In the eyes of some at NBC News, the uncertainty around the vice presidential debate and the Trump campaign’s willingness to participate in future contests has left the door open for the network.