America’s debate chief thinks Biden has shattered the rules … And lulled Trump

Commission on Presidential Debates co-founder and co-chair Frank Fahrenkopf gives the inside background of decades of debates and drama.

Frank Fahrenkopf, the co-founder of the Commission on Presidential Debates and its Republican co-chair, speaks in Las Vegas, Nevada. | Ethan Miller/Getty Images

On Wednesday morning, Frank Fahrenkopf received a letter from the Biden presidential campaign that ruined his day. Fahrenkopf is co-chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has produced 33 debates since 1988, the first election year it was in business.

He was planning on four more this year: three with Biden and Trump, as well as the quadrennial vice presidential debate. But the Biden campaign told Fahrenkopf that the president would not be participating in any of them.

Instead instead, the Biden campaign announced it was going to negotiate in conjunction with the Trump campaign as well as individual media organizations to organize two debates that are not part of the Commission’s procedures.

At the close of the day Biden as well as Trump were scheduled to debate on June 1st on CNN and later in September, on ABC.

In this week’s episode on Deep Dive, Fahrenkopf joins host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza to discuss the consequences of this decision, including the roles played by Biden, Trump and Anita Dunn as well as the reason he believes RFK Jr. could have a legal case in the case against CNN and what his most favorite behind-the scenes stories come from his years of creating debates.