Trump, Biden, and America Should Reject Commission [OPINION]

Who are the members of the Commission on Presidential Debates and why should they unilaterally decide what America sees and hears?

The American people are trying to decide who should be our president for the next four years. A series of debates between candidates is an important part of the selection process. The political climate is extremely charged at this moment. There are people being killed and billions of dollars in property has been destroyed. This is the time to show the importance of civil debate, not to extinguish it.

The idea that a group of unelected people can decide if the candidates for president will be allowed to debate in front of the American voters is as close to totalitarianism as I have ever experienced in our nation. President Donald J. Trump was elected by the Republican Party as the nominee of their party and former Vice President Joe Biden was elected by the Democratic Party. The voters selected their candidates and it is ridiculous for a commission to decide they won’t be allowed to offer their political positions to the voters in a debate.

First, the debate commission unilaterally changed the rules of the debates without consulting with either the Trump or Biden campaigns because of the president’s diagnosis of COVID-19. They had plenty of time to speak with the campaigns but they chose not to and made a ruling without much information. The president rejected the uninformed decision and that triggered the commission to cancel the next debate.

I don’t know if this hurts or helps a particular candidate, but I know it hurts our Republic.

Chris McCarthy is the host of The Chris McCarthy Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Contact him at chris.mccarthy@townsquaremedia.com and follow him on Twitter @Chris_topher_Mc. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.