President Joe Biden will not participate in the Democratic Party's upcoming presidential debate, The Guardian reports.
The outlet reports that the debate will take place "without Joe Biden, who is neither on the state ballot nor agreeable to any debate interaction with competitors."
It is in this sense that Biden is following the lead of his top Republican rival - former President Donald Trump. Trump did not participate in the several Republican debates that have been held in recent months.
But, as will be demonstrated, there are some significant differences between Biden and Trump.
The Democratic debate - the first of this election cycle - is scheduled to take next month, on Jan. 8, 2024, in New Hampshire. The debate will feature Democratic presidential candidates Marianne Williamson and U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN).
It would be an understatement to say that Williamson and Phillips are longshot candidates.
Real Clear Politics currently has Biden leading the Democratic Party primary field by over 60 percentage points.
The president is sitting on 68.3% support, on average, whereas Williamson - his next closest Democratic rival - is only at 7.8% support. Phillips, on average, is only polling at 3.3%.
For this reason alone, it is hard to believe that the debate between Williamson and Phillips will get much attention.
As ABC News reports, it is far more common for incumbents to skip primary debates than for non-incumbents to do so. It is worth pointing out, however, that ABC's report does distinguish between "incumbents" and "former presidents." Trump, of course, is not an incumbent, but he is a former president and, thus, a known quantity.
Trump has skipped the debates because, like Biden, Trump is dominating his party's primary field. Real Clear Politics has Trump leading his next closest Republican rival by 50 percentage points.
The Washington Examiner, however, recently highlighted a significant difference between Trump and Biden. Whereas Biden and his White House have refused to even consider Biden participating in a presidential debate - whether it be a primary or general election debate - Trump has recently indicated that he would be willing to participate in both a primary and general election debate.
The outlet reports:
The former president said on Friday during an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that he is open to a debate if the race comes down to him and one serious challenger after the results of the New Hampshire primary.
Biden's reluctance to debate has led to much criticism, and it has led many to speculate about the reason why he will not debate.
