Republican Party threatens to boycott US presidential debates

The US Republican Party has threatened to boycott the country’s future presidential debates unless the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) that organizes them changes its rules.

In a letter on Thursday to the non-profit commission known as the CPD, which has run presidential debates since 1988, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the party was contemplating amending its rules to ensure its candidates do not take part in the debates due to concerns about "whether the CPD credibly can provide a fair and impartial forum for presidential debates."

McDaniel accused the commission of “stonewalling the meaningful reforms necessary to restore its credibility with the Republican Party as a fair and nonpartisan actor.”

She went on to say that the party would try to help future Republican presidential nominees to attend debates that are organized more fairly.

It is not clear, however, what format those debates would take or whether they would happen as often as in recent decades.

“The RNC will take every step to ensure that future Republican presidential nominees are given that opportunity (to debate) elsewhere,” she said.

“Accordingly, the RNC will initiate the process of amending the Rules of the Republican Party at our upcoming Winter Meeting to prohibit future Republican nominees from participating in CPD-sponsored debates.”

Before the debate commission was founded in 1987, political parties or campaigns had negotiated directly on the terms of debates.

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The looming split comes as US political divisions have grown deeper and the possibility of fewer debates means that Americans would have less access to unfiltered information about their aspiring leaders.

Meanwhile, Republicans have long accused the CPD founded to codify the debates as a permanent part of presidential elections of being biased in favor of Democratic candidates.

She said the commission had made “unilateral changes to previously agreed-upon debate formats and conditions” and selected a moderator “who had once worked for the Democrat nominee.”

McDaniel also said Republicans are also worried that the commission could hold its first debate for the 2024 presidential contest after the start of early voting, as it did in 2020.

She complained that the first debate between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 was held after early voting had already started.

Last year, McDaniel and other party officials called on the commission to agree to changes in the ways it conducts its business and the debates were held.

She added that the RNC rule change could be made official at a party meeting in Salt Lake City in February.

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