Joe Lockart, the former White House Press Secretary under President Bill Clinton, wrote an op-ed for CNN demanding that Democratic nominee Joe Biden refuse to debate President Donald Trump prior to the November election, as reported by Fox News.
In the op-ed, titled “Joe Biden could still lose this election,” Lockhart tells Biden “Whatever you do, don’t debate Trump.” Lockhart then goes on to falsely claim that “Trump has made more than 20,000 misleading or false statements,” without providing any evidence to assert his claim. He then says that “It’s a fool’s errand to enter the ring with someone who can’t follow the rules or the truth.”
Lockhart points to Biden’s current lead in most national polling – which has already been gradually shrinking over the last several weeks – as proof that Biden should simply remain in his basement and avoid active campaigning for the rest of the election season. While Biden would “undoubtedly take heat” for such a controversial move, Lockhart claims, “it’s worth the risk as trying to debate someone incapable of telling the truth.”
Lockhart admits, as per the title of his article, that Biden could still lose the election, namely if he continues to have gaffes on the campaign trail or otherwise suffers from other “self-inflicted injuries.”
Biden has been routinely mocked for his current strategy of remaining in the basement of his home in Delaware, refusing to campaign in-person and largely avoiding interviews, with the very few interviews he has given often being kept to strict schedules and sometimes cut off by his staff whenever Biden is asked tough questions. However, Biden has formally accepted the Commission on Presidential Debates’ offer for three traditional debates against President Trump, set for September and October of this year.