President Joe Biden’s decision to take Donald Trump up on his “anytime and anywhere” debate offer and propose June and September debates is a clear sign of worry among his reelection campaign team.
Two months ago, Biden cracked the door open to not having any debates, which hadn’t happened in a presidential race since 1972. Asked by a reporter if he would “commit to a debate with former President Trump,” Biden responded, “It depends on his behavior.”
Nothing has changed about Trump’s behavior since then. What also hasn’t changed is who is leading the polls.
Two weeks ago, I sketched out Biden’s most promising path to garner the 270 Electoral College votes needed to be reelected: Pennsylvania to Michigan, Wisconsin to Nebraska’s Omaha-based 2nd congressional district. Even after the recent set of New York Times swing state polls that looked ominous for Biden, in both the Real Clear Politics and FiveThirtyEight averages, the incumbent is still only behind by a surmountable point or two in the critical Rust Belt swing states.
