Donald Trump revealed on Wednesday that he has agreed to “sit at the table” with Joe Biden in his upcoming debate, despite his strong preference to stand.
Trump said the sit-down format was a request from the 81-year-old president’s campaign.
“Now I hear we’re sitting at the table. I don’t want to be at the table,” the 77-year-old former president said during an appearance on WABC 770 AM’s “The Cats & Cosby Show.” told John Catsmatidis and Rita Cosby.
“I said, ‘No, let’s stand up,’ but they want to sit at the table,” Trump said. “So I think we’re going to be sitting at the table instead of the way we should be in the debate.”
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee explained that he personally prefers to “stand at the podium” and be on his feet for an hour and a half to two hours.
“But they have [Biden] “Sitting at the table is not very nice,” Trump said, noting that a seated debate is one of “many” demands made by the Biden campaign.
“But I would like to debate with him, so I will agree to their demands,” the former president told Catsimatidis and Cosby, noting that he intends to pressure Biden over a chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
“if [Biden] “If they make it through the debates, they’ll say it’s great,” Trump argued.
The Trump and Biden campaigns have agreed to two scheduled debates, including a June 27 event hosted by CNN and a Sept. 10 showdown with ABC News.
It is unclear whether both debates will be seated.
There will be no live audience at either forum, per the Biden campaign’s request.
The agreement between the two campaigns excludes the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), which has organized the head-to-head events since the 1988 election.
Both sides have indicated their intention to participate in the vice presidential debate, but the details have not yet been agreed.
Biden wants the vice presidential debate to be broadcast on CBS, while Trump wants it to be hosted by Fox News.
