News Outlets Urge Trump and Biden to Participate in Debates:
Twelve major news organizations, including both broadcast and print media organizations, issued an unusual joint statement on Sunday urging Donald Trump and Joe Biden to participate in upcoming debates. This group of news outlets includes ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and CNN.
“With the contours of the 2024 general election now coming into clear focus, we-the undersigned national news organizations-urge the presumptive presidential nominees to publicly commit to participating in general election debates before November’s election,” the statement read.
This response follows Biden’s inability to commit to participating in the debates scheduled for September and October. Biden’s allies have expressed their worries about the Commission of Presidential Debates to enforce debate rules if Trump were to participate. The Commission of Presidential Debates is the nonpartisan group responsible for hosting the debates since 1987.
Trump has pledged to participate in the upcoming debates against Biden. However, last year he refused to debate his fellow Republican party candidates during the primary debates.
“If there is one thing Americans can agree on during this polarized time, it is that the stakes of this election are exceptionally high,” the statement said. “Amidst that backdrop, there is simply no substitute for the candidates debating with each other, and before the American people, their visions for the future of our nation.”
House Speaker Johnson to Call for Aid in Israel and Ukraine:
It was announced on Sunday that House Speaker Mike Johnson would work to advance wartime aid in support of Israel and Ukraine.
On Fox’s “Sunday Morning Features,” Johnson said that he and fellow Republicans “understand the necessity of standing with Israel.”
Johnson’s response follows increasing pressure from his party. He has attempted to gain the Republican party’s support regarding assistance in Ukraine. Additionally, Johnson initially refused to support the $95 billion aid package for Israel, Ukraine and Turkey for two months. The Senate refused to pass the House Republican proposal that stated that aid to Israel would be provided on domestic spending cuts.
“I think these are ideas that I think can get consensus, and that’s what we’ve been working through,” Johnson said. “We’ll send our package. We’ll put something together and send it to the Senate and get these obligations completed.”
The pressure to pass the aid bill has escalated following the attacks from Iran. It was left unclear if Johnson’s new proposal would include financial support for Ukraine.
