(ConservativeFreePress.com) – Following Wednesday’s announcement that former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden would debate, Democratic Representative Dean Phillips (Minnesota) shared his excitement but suggested Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. should have been included.
Phillips was asked about his views on the debates — which will occur in June and September — by Bret Baier of Fox News, prompting a “hallelujah” from the Democrat.
Phillips explained that he believes debates are “the vitamin of democracy,” welcoming the news after it seemed that for “the first time in modern history” there wouldn’t be a debate between the Republican and Democrat candidates.
However, he added that he’d “prefer” the Commission on Presidential Debates involve third party candidates, relaying that up to 30 percent of the country didn’t intend to vote for Biden or Trump.
He then shared his wish that Kennedy Jr. was included in Biden’s campaign invite to Trump, describing the Independent candidate as a “thoughtful [and] engaging debater.”
Phillips asserted that the more sides involved in the debate, “the better,” proclaiming that “competition is good.” However, the Democratic Representative suggested he had witnessed more efforts to “diminish [competition] rather than promote it.”
On Wednesday, Biden’s campaign overstepped the Commission, challenging Trump to the pair’s first debate since 2020. Trump, who had skipped all GOP primary debates choosing to campaign instead, accepted the offer to debate in June and September, replying, “Let’s get ready to Rumble.”
CNN and ABC quickly picked up the debates, with the latter revealing it would make it available to other networks via simulcast.
Phillips shared his appreciation that the debates would be available on multiple networks, saying that it would be “better” for more people to witness the “debate” and “deliberation,” suggesting that if that is absent, “democracy dies.”
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