No, Biden didn't demand to sit during debate with Trump | Fact check

Chris Mueller, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: Biden demanded he 'not have to stand' during debate with Trump

A June 14 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) claims President Joe Biden insisted that a specific rule be implemented for an upcoming presidential debate.

"Breaking: The Biden campaign has demanded that Joe Biden not have to stand during the Presidential debate," reads the post, which is a screenshot of a post on X, formerly Twitter. "There is now no audience, no back and forth with the candidates, and no standing. Anyone who still plans to support Biden even after this needs to be cut out of your life."

A similar version of the claim was posted June 17 on X by the Washington Reporter, a new conservative news outlet. The post was shared by multiple Republican lawmakers, including Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt and Josh Hawley and New York Rep. Elise Stefanik.

The Instagram post was liked more than 90,000 times in four days. The X post was reposted more than 5,000 times in six days.

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Our rating: False

A spokesperson from Biden's campaign and one from CNN, which is hosting the first presidential debate, both said the claim is false. There are no credible reports Biden made such a demand.

Biden and Trump agreed to stand during June 27 debate

In May, Biden and former President Donald Trump agreed to participate in two debates ahead of the presidential election. CNN announced it would host the first debate June 27, and ABC said it would hold a second one Sept. 10. The first meeting between the two candidates will be the earliest televised general election debate since the tradition began in 1960.

CNN has already released details about the agreed-upon rules for their 90-minute debate, including that "both candidates agreed to appear at a uniform podium," with their podium positions decided by a coin flip. There was no mention of a demand by Biden's campaign that he not have to stand for the debate, nor are there any credible news reports of such a stipulation.

Emily Kuhn, a CNN spokesperson, told USA TODAY the claim is "not accurate." CNN told the same to Forbes.

"CNN’s proposed format was to have both candidates stand, and both sides agreed to the rules when they agreed to debate," Kuhn said.

Lauren Hitt, a spokesperson for Biden's campaign, likewise told USA TODAY the post's claim is "completely untrue." And in an X post, Kevin Munoz, another Biden spokesperson, also said the claim is false.

Fact check: No, Biden did not back out of debates with Trump in May 2024

In 2020, Biden and Trump stood at podiums for their two televised debates ahead of that year's presidential election. This time, CNN has said there won't be a live audience, and each candidate's microphone will be muted unless it's their turn to speak.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No, Biden didn't ask for seated debate against Trump | Fact check

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