Former President Donald Trump’s team was reportedly caught off guard when President Joe Biden agreed to a debate schedule. However, they quickly accepted the terms, aware that Trump had initially called for these debates.
Despite the agreement, within hours, Trump’s Republican allies began voicing complaints about the arrangement on social media platform X. This sudden shift in tone has led some observers to suspect that these allies are setting the stage for Trump to potentially back out of the debates.
Justin Baragona from The Daily Beast has a theory about why Trump supporters are expressing these objections. He suggests that their complaints might be a strategic move to give Trump an excuse to withdraw from the debates.
“Call me cynical, but why is Biden suddenly so willing to debate?” wrote Vivek Ramaswamy, a businessman who ran as a far-right GOP candidate in the 2024 primary against Trump. “It could be because he’s desperate, or it could be because it’s a set-up. Keep an eye on the details of how all this comes together. You don’t often see a sudden 180 like this unless there’s more to the story.”
“With CNN moderating, is it even a debate?” wrote Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) from his personal account, @BasedMikeLee. “It seems like it should be called something else. It’d be a far more accurate description of CNN’s intentions to call it something like: ‘Live From CNN: Let’s Make Biden Look Presidential While Turning Trump Into A Piñata.’”
Peter Henlein, a conservative Iraq War veteran, also pointed out comments made by Vivek Ramaswamy, noting that it seems Trump’s allies are “messaging” for the former president to ultimately back out of the agreed-upon debates. Henlein highlighted that Trump had repeatedly challenged Biden to a debate, and upon Biden’s acceptance, Trump quickly agreed to the terms.
However, Ramaswamy’s reaction implies confusion and concern, suggesting that the MAGA supporters might be anticipating either a loss or a withdrawal by Trump and are already preparing the narrative for it. Henlein summarized the situation by noting that Trump’s allies are likely setting the groundwork for Trump to exit the debates if necessary, highlighting the preemptive nature of their messaging. This move underscores the complex strategies at play within political campaigns, where the groundwork for potential outcomes is laid well in advance of actual events.