The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates notified four universities on Monday that they no longer need to plan to hold a 2024 presidential debate after being rejected by President Biden.
The CPD board of directors “regrettably announces” that Texas State University, Lafayette College, Virginia State University and the University of Utah have been terminated from their contracts to host the presidential and vice presidential debates scheduled for September and October.
“In a May 15, 2024 letter from Jen O’Malley Dillon, Campaign Chair for the Biden-Harris Campaign, the Biden-Harris Campaign informed the Commission that President Biden would not consent to a Commission-sponsored debate during the 2024 general election campaign, and it would be unfair to ask the four campuses to continue preparing for the debates as they have done since his election in November 2023,” CPD co-chairs Antonia Hernandez and Frank Fahrenkopf said. It said in a statement.
“We are grateful for the venue and regret having to come to this decision,” they added. “We are disappointed that students from all four campuses will lose the opportunity to participate in this historic voter education forum.”
The Biden campaign dissolved the longtime debate organizers in May and has independently negotiated the one-on-one showdowns with former President Donald Trump scheduled for Thursday and Sept. 10.
The first debate between Biden and Trump will be hosted by CNN and will take place in the network’s Atlanta studios.
The second showdown between the 81-year-old incumbent president and the 78-year-old Republican nominee will air on ABC. The location for the event has yet to be announced.
Since its inception in 1987, CPD has held 30 of its 33 debates on university campuses.
Until this election, CPD had hosted every presidential and vice presidential debate since 1988.
Despite Monday’s announcement, Hernandez and Fahrenkopf noted that the Chicago Police Department remains open to sponsoring a debate in 2024 if circumstances change.
“The reasons for establishing CPD remain compelling: a neutral organization with no other role during a general election is well positioned to provide a format that focuses on the issues that matter most to candidates and the American people,” the co-chairs said.
Fahrenkopf, a co-founder of the committee, blasted White House top adviser Anita Dunn in May after his group was barred from the debate.
“I know how this all goes. [from] “I’m Anita Dunn,” Fahrenkopf, a former chair of the Republican National Committee, told Politico in an interview. “Playbook Deep Dive” Podcast.
“This is her plan, I know it. She’s been against the commission for years and years,” he added.
