Donald Trump has challenged Joe Biden to a second debate with “no holds barred.” This challenge was issued on Independence Day in a fiery post on Truth Social.
“I have the answer to the Crooked Joe Biden Incompetence Puzzle,” Trump stated. “Let’s do another debate, but this time, no holds barred.”
Trump proposed that the debate should have no moderators, allowing both candidates to discuss the future of the country directly.
He referred to their first debate as “record-setting” and argued it could have been better if it had followed the format he now suggests.
“Let Joe explain why he wants open borders, with millions of people, and many violent criminals from parts unknown, pouring into our once great nation,” Trump added. “Or why he wants men playing in women’s sports, or demands all electric vehicles within five years, or why he allowed inflation to run rampant, destroying the people of our country, and so much more.”
Trump continued to question Biden’s competence. “What a great evening it would be, just the two of us, one-on-one, in a good, old-fashioned debate, the way they used to be,” he said, concluding with, “ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE!!!”
Social media users reacted to the post, noting that Biden would likely never agree to these terms. Before the first debate, Biden’s team set out specific conditions, which Trump accepted.
Biden Campaign Communications Director Michael Tyler previously said, “Listen, it’s Donald Trump who said he would do this anytime, anywhere, anyplace. So I don’t think that they should have any problems with what we propose. He’s the one who said he’s ready to go.”
Biden has faced criticism since the last debate, with calls for him to drop out of the 2024 race intensifying. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) suggested Biden should follow Lyndon B. Johnson’s example and not seek re-election.
Biden blamed his poor performance on his busy schedule, claiming it made him nearly “fall asleep” on stage. However, The New York Post debunked this, noting that Biden had 13 days to rest before the debate, including a week at Camp David.
Initially, his aides attributed Biden’s soft, raspy voice and slurred phrases to a cold. Representative Jared Golden (D-Maine) expressed his lack of confidence in Biden in an op-ed for the Bangor Daily News, stating, “Biden’s poor performance in the debate was not a surprise. It also didn’t rattle me as it has others, because the outcome of this election has been clear to me for months: While I don’t plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win. And I’m OK with that.”