In an unprecedented move, the Republican National Committee (RNC) has unanimously decided to boycott any event of the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD).
This means Republican presidential nominees will not participate in any further debate unless the committee overturns its decision.
Republicans Boycott Presidential Debates
The GOP has often accused the commission of siding with Democratic candidates during presidential debates.
Thus, the decision is in line with Republicans’ cries of the commission taking a biased approach in most of its events against Republican candidates.
According to the Chairwoman of RNC Ronna McDaniel, debates are essential in any democratic setup, and the RNC believes in free and fair speech practices.
However, McDaniel claimed the commission has become biased and is not making some “commonsense reforms” to ensure free and fair debates.
The Republican National Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to withdraw from its participation in the Commission on Presidential Debates, the organization that has long governed general-election presidential debates, @MichaelRWarren reports
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 14, 2022
Some of the malpractices of the commission include not conducting these debates before the start of the actual vote, and the recruitment of moderators who are biased and have worked with candidates.
Thus, the party will find a “better debate platform” for its candidates, the chairwoman added.
She also emphasized that future Republican presidential candidates will be required to pledge they will only participate in a debate approved by the RNC, whether it is in primary or general elections.
Until now, a presidential nominee is not required by law to comply with the party’s decision of participating or boycotting the debate.
The commission is often accused of favoring Democratic nominees and giving them an unfair advantage to help them win the messaging war.
This was evident in the 2020 elections presidential debate when former President Trump was denied speaking time even though then-presidential candidate Biden interrupted him many times.
Eventually, Trump boycotted the second presidential debate when it was moved online after he caught COVID.
Commission on Presidential Debates is a Pro-Democrat Entity
Donald Trump remained one of the major critics of the commission.
In 2019, he claimed the commission is filled with “Trump haters.” Back then, he asserted he could skip all the debates of the 2020 presidential elections, but he attended two of them eventually.
After the first debate, Trump took aim at the moderator Chris Wallace, who was the Fox News host back then. He tweeted the Biden and Wallace duo was like a “two on one” episode against him.
The GOP has already claimed it has no objections to the format of the debates, but the biases of the platform are problematic to them.
Reminder: The Presidential Debate Commission Worked To Hide Joe Biden’s Foreign Policy From Voters https://t.co/VBNh4pcoJl
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) April 14, 2022
As per the RNC, the administrative faults in the commission make elections controversial. For instance, the commission did not begin the debate until early voting started in 26 states in the 2020 elections.
The CPD has not commented on the measure taken by the RNC as of now, while the Democratic National Committee (DNC) stated it will not comment on the move.
