--- title: Biden and Trump Agree to Debate Before November Election description: Biden and Trump agreed to two televised debates before the election in June and September. canonical: https://time.com/6978328/joe-biden-donald-trump-agree-debates-election/ author: Nik Popli article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-05-15T14:18:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-01-19T13:25:58.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Biden and Trump Agree to Debate Twice Before November Election og:description: Biden and Trump agreed to two televised debates before the election in June and September. og:url: https://time.com/6978328/joe-biden-donald-trump-agree-debates-election/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt032e685564f26548/698a56cf929fadb89abfc868/GettyImages-2147786825.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Former President Trump Holds Rally In Schnecksville, Pennsylvania og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Biden and Trump Agree to Debate Twice Before November Election twitter:description: Biden and Trump agreed to two televised debates before the election in June and September. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt032e685564f26548/698a56cf929fadb89abfc868/GettyImages-2147786825.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Biden and Trump Agree to Debate Twice Before November Election. Here Are the Terms > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=82671676-04ba-435a-9c5b-8e010a7a5ab3&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * D.C. Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=82671676-04ba-435a-9c5b-8e010a7a5ab3&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=82671676-04ba-435a-9c5b-8e010a7a5ab3&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Jan 19, 2026 1:25 PM UTCPublished: May 15, 2024 2:18 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump stands next to a podium placed next to him to challenge President Biden to a debate as he speaks at a rally outside Schnecksville Fire Hall on April 13, 2024 in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania. Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump stands next to a podium placed next to him to challenge President Biden to a debate as he speaks at a rally outside Schnecksville Fire Hall on April 13, 2024 in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Jan 19, 2026 1:25 PM UTCPublished: May 15, 2024 2:18 PM UTC President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have agreed to meet for a pair of televised debates before the Nov. 5 election. The first debate will be on June 27 hosted by CNN, [the network announced](https://twitter.com/cnnpr/status/1790757195455324413?s=46&t=Ed6b3Tk6qtOWW%5FBzA27Q9Q) Wednesday, giving voters an opportunity to hear from both candidates before casting their ballots. The second will be hosted by ABC on Sept. 10\. Both candidates accepted invitations to the debates, they said. "Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020\. Since then he hasn't shown up for a debate," Biden said in a video message [posted earlier in the day on X](https://x.com/JoeBiden/status/1790713878248038478). "Now he's acting like he wants to debate me again. Make my day pal. I'll even do it twice." Biden referenced Trump’s ongoing New York [hush-money trial](https://time.com/6965419/trump-hush-money-trial-legal-questions/) by joking that he is “free on Wednesdays,” the usual day off in the trial. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee who refused to debate his rivals in the primary race, responded to [a proposal by the Biden campaign](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/15/us/politics/biden-trump-debates.html) by saying he is “ready and willing” to debate. He has in recent weeks been challenging Biden to engage in a one-on-one matchup with him, offering to debate the President “anytime, anywhere, anyplace.” **Read More:** [_How Far Trump Would Go_](https://time.com/6972021/donald-trump-2024-election-interview/) “Crooked Joe Biden is the WORST debater I have ever faced - He can’t put two sentences together!” Trump [wrote on Truth Social](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112445162136412936). “I am Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times in June and September.” Trump said he accepted an invitation for a third debate on Oct. 2 hosted by Fox News, though it’s unclear if Biden will agree. Trump's campaign [also proposed](https://twitter.com/trumpwarroom/status/1790763802037760461?s=46&t=Ed6b3Tk6qtOWW%5FBzA27Q9Q) holding two additional debates in July and August. Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon [said in a letter ](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/15/us/politics/biden-trump-debates.html)that Biden would not take part in the traditional televised showdowns organized by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, citing the commission’s late schedule and past struggles to keep candidates from violating the debate rules. Trump has also leveled criticisms against the commission, arguing that it is biased against him and begins too late in the campaign season. The Biden campaign proposed several criteria for how the debates should be structured, calling on the debates to be hosted by a broadcast organization that moderated a Republican primary debate in 2016 as well as one that did so in the Democratic primary in 2020, “so neither campaign can assert that the sponsoring organization is obviously unacceptable.” Moderators for the debate, the Biden campaign argued, should be “selected by the broadcast host from among their regular personnel, so as to avoid a ‘ringer’ or partisan.” **Read More:** [_Biden’s Campaign Is In Trouble. Will the Turnaround Plan Work?_](https://time.com/6958784/biden-campaign-strategy-problems-2024/) “There should be firm time limits for answers, and alternate turns to speak — so that the time is evenly divided and we have an exchange of views, not a spectacle of mutual interruption,” O’Malley Dillon wrote in the letter. She also argued that the debates should be conducted for voters to watch on television from their homes instead of in front of live audiences “with raucous or disruptive partisans and donors, who consume valuable debate time with noisy spectacles of approval or jeering.” Trump said he disagreed with Biden’s call not to debate in front of a crowd. “I would strongly recommend more than two debates,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “And, for excitement purposes, a very large venue, although Biden is supposedly afraid of crowds - That’s only because he doesn’t get them. Just tell me when, I’ll be there. ‘Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!’” While both candidates have agreed to at least two debates, Biden's team is signaling skepticism that Trump will stick to the plan. "“Donald Trump has a long history of playing games with debates: complaining about the rules, breaking those rules, pulling out at the last minute, or not showing up at all," O'Malley Dillon said in a statement. "No more games. No more chaos, no more debate about debates. We’ll see Donald Trump on June 27th in Atlanta – if he shows up.” Biden also called for a vice presidential debate to take place in late July after the Republican National Convention. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6978328/joe-biden-donald-trump-agree-debates-election/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6978328/joe-biden-donald-trump-agree-debates-election/"},"headline":"Biden and Trump Agree to Debate Twice Before November Election. Here Are the Terms","datePublished":"2024-05-15T14:18:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-01-19T13:25:58.000Z","description":"Biden and Trump agreed to two televised debates before the election in June and September.","url":"https://time.com/6978328/joe-biden-donald-trump-agree-debates-election/","keywords":["2024 Elections","News","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt032e685564f26548/698a56cf929fadb89abfc868/GettyImages-2147786825.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nik Popli","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/nik-popli/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt032e685564f26548/698a56cf929fadb89abfc868/GettyImages-2147786825.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Former President Trump Holds Rally In Schnecksville, Pennsylvania","caption":"Former President Trump Holds Rally In Schnecksville, Pennsylvania","creditText":"Andrew Harnik/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2024-election/","name":"2024 Elections"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6978328/joe-biden-donald-trump-agree-debates-election/","name":"Biden and Trump Agree to Debate Twice Before November Election. Here Are the Terms"}}]}] ```