North Gwinnett News

Insisting that the structure of presidential debates has proven unfair to Republicans, the Republican National Committee (RNC) is threatening to require candidates vying for the party's nomination to pledge not to take part in debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD).

In a letter penned to the commission earlier this month, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel outlined a complaint list that included concerns over moderator selection and a request for debates to occur before the early voting period starts.

"The ball is in the court of the debate commission," RNC national spokesperson Paris Dennard said to Fox News. "We've met with them, in person, virtually, sent them multiple letters, and yet they still come to the same conclusion they're unwilling to do these commonsense reforms to make the debate process more fair for moving forward for the 2024 election year."

In regard to the demand to hold debates prior to the early voting period, Dennard said, "You have tens of thousands of people voting without ever hearing the two candidates for president in a fair and objective manner."

"The RNC will initiate the process of amending the Rules of the Republican Party at our upcoming Winter Meeting to prohibit future Republican nominees from participating in CPD-sponsored debates," McDaniel said in her letter.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said that Republicans are aware they wouldn't do well in a fair fight.

"After years of having their toxic policies exposed on the national stage, the RNC has decided they would rather hide their ideas and candidates from voters," Harrison said to Fox.

In a statement to Fox, CPD officials said that the organization deals directly with candidates who qualify to take part in debates.

"The CPD's plans for 2024 will be based on fairness, neutrality and a firm commitment to help the American public learn about the candidates and the issues," the commission said.

In 2020, former Republican President Donald Trump accused the CPD of bias and lacking fairness, and would not take part in the second 2020 debate against President Joe Biden. Trump's objections were over the debate being held virtually as a precaution due to COVID-19, Fox reported.

Dennard said RNC officials will take a "wait and see" approach to the question of what will happen during the next debate season.

"Why would we as the RNC encourage our nominee to do something that is not fair, that is not objective," Dennard said. "That is all that we want: a fair and objective debate process for whoever he or she might be on either side."