The Trump campaign asked the Commission on Presidential Debates on Monday to “rethink” the topics for the final presidential debate this week, saying moderator Kristen Welker has chosen subjects beyond the intended subject of foreign policy.
Campaign manager Bill Stepien told the commission in a letter that both campaigns had agreed that the final debate Thursday would focus on international affairs. But he said Ms. Welker has announced instead that the debate in Nashville, Tennessee, will cover COVID-19, families, race in America, climate change, national security and leadership.
While those topics are worthy of discussion, Mr. Stepien said, “only a few of them even touch on foreign policy.” He said the Commission has demonstrated favoritism toward Democratic nominee Joseph R. Biden, and that Mr. Biden’s record has shown he has good reasons to want to avoid spending the whole debate on foreign policy.
“We understand that Joe Biden is desperate to avoid conversations about his own foreign policy record, especially since President Trump has secured historic peace agreements among Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain,” Mr. Stepien said. “Biden has supported endless wars and given aid and comfort to our adversaries, including Iran, which was delivered pallets loaded with mountains of cash just as four Americans were released from captivity in Tehran. Biden also has advanced the interests of China over his 47 years as a Washington politician, putting their concerns ahead of those of America workers.”
He went on, “New information recently revealed indicates that Biden himself was mentioned as a financial beneficiary of a deal arranged by his son Hunter and a communist Chinese-related energy company. It is completely irresponsible for the Commission to alter the focus of this final debate just days before the event, solely to insulate Biden from his own history.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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