(NewsInsights.org) – ABC Host Martha Raddatz sat down with one of President Joe Biden’s allies on the May 19 episode of “This Week” to discuss the president’s preparations for two upcoming debates. As the two wound down the segment, Raddatz asked Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) about what she called “pretty dire” polling results from a cooperative survey from The New York Times, Sienna College, and The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Raddatz pointed out that the April 28 through May 9 poll showed presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump leading Biden in five of six battleground states. She noted his 12-point lead in Nevada, seven-point leads in Arizona and Michigan, and a three-point lead in Pennsylvania while forgetting to mention a significant 10-point lead in Georgia. Biden showed a paltry two-point polling lead over Trump in Wisconsin.
Van Hollen responded to Raddatz’s query about how the president might turn such “dire” polling numbers around by calling polls fickle by their nature, prone to “go up and down” several times over the long term. Still, he told the host that the best way would include reframing the choices for the American people via the debates and allowing them to decide for themselves.
Biden issued Trump a tongue-in-cheek video invitation to debate styled after Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry character in a May 15 post on X, formerly Twitter. Trump accepted the challenge on Truth Social the same day, noting that Biden was “the WORST debater” he had ever faced. The former president concluded with his own fight meme, quoting boxing ring announcer Michael Buffer’s famous catchphrase, “Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!”
CNN will host the first debate on June 27 at the outlet’s Atlanta studios. Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will moderate. ABC’s David Muir and Linsey Davis will moderate the second debate on September 10. However, the outlet hasn’t yet announced the venue.
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