Donald Trump considers skipping 2020 general election debates 'because he doesn't trust the commission that runs them'

  • Donald Trump has been speaking to his advisers about whether or not he should participate in the 2020 general election debates, sources say
  • Trump has told his advisers he doesn't trust the Commission on Presidential Debates and is apprehensive about who will moderate the debates
  • During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly complained that he was at a disadvantage against his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton
  • Following one 2016 debate, Trump questioned whether the commission had deliberately given him a faulty microphone 

President Donald Trump is reportedly weighing up whether to skip the 2020 general election debates because he doesn't trust the commission that runs them.

Trump has been speaking to his advisers about whether he should participate and go up against a Democrat in the debates next year, two sources told the New York Times. 

He has told his advisers he doesn't trust the Commission on Presidential Debates, according to the sources. 

President Donald Trump is reportedly weighing up whether to skip the 2020 general election debates because he doesn't trust the commission that runs them. During the 2016 debates, Trump repeatedly complained he was at a disadvantage against opponent Hillary Clinton

President Donald Trump is reportedly weighing up whether to skip the 2020 general election debates because he doesn't trust the commission that runs them. During the 2016 debates, Trump repeatedly complained he was at a disadvantage against opponent Hillary Clinton

Trump is also reportedly apprehensive about who will be chosen to moderate the debates. 

His advisers would not comment on the possibility that Trump may not participate in the debates. 

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly complained that he was at a disadvantage against his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. 

The Democratic candidate received a bump in the polls after each of the three debates against Trump. 

Following one debate in September 2016, Trump questioned whether the commission had deliberately given him a faulty microphone after it was found a technical glitch had affected the volume of his voice. 

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly complained that he was at a disadvantage against his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly complained that he was at a disadvantage against his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton

'They gave me a defective mic, did you notice that?' Trump said after that debate. 'My mic was defective within the room... I wonder. Was that on purpose?'  

Despite the report that Trump was considering skipping the debates, a former Clinton aide said he predicted the President would take part in at least one.

'Not doing any would not be strategically smart,' Philippe Reines said.

'He'll bluff that he won't do any with the goal of only having to do one.' 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson refused to participate in several debates in the months leading up to the UK election held this week.

The refusal to participate didn't appear to harm his political campaign with Johnson on course on Thursday to secure a Tory majority in the Commons, according to the exit polls.  

In the U.S., televised presidential debates date back to the 1960 campaign between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy.

Nixon went on to refuse several debates during his presidential term.

 

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