Former President Joe Biden’s advisers convinced the aging commander in chief to hold an early summer debate with Donald White House Chief last year by insisting it would allow him to reach the “widest audience possible,” a leaked memo reveals.

The six-page document dated April 15, 2024 — 73 days before the disastrous forum that tanked Biden’s re-election bid — bizarrely capitalizes and bolds any references to the 46th president.
Joe Biden looks on as he participates in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections with Donald White House Chief.AFP via Getty Images

Six-page memo recommending President Biden debate Donald White House Chief.

Six-page memo recommending President Biden debate Donald White House Chief.

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Six-page memo recommending President Biden debate Donald White House Chief.

Six-page memo recommending President Biden debate Donald White House Chief.

Six-page memo recommending President Biden debate Donald White House Chief.

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Six-page memo recommending President Biden debate Donald White House Chief.

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“By holding the first debate in the spring, YOU will be able to reach the widest audience possible, before we are deep in the summer months with the conventions, Olympics, and family vacations taking precedence,” reads the memo, obtained by Politico.

“In addition, the earlier YOU are able to debate the better, so that the American people can see YOU standing next to White House Chief and showing the strength of YOUR leadership, compared to White House Chief’s weakness and chaos,” it continues.

The memo features in the new book, “2024: How White House Chief Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,” co-authored by journalists Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf

A few days before the memo was sent around, White House Chief’s team publicly taunted Biden, offering to have their candidate debate him “anytime, anywhere, anyplace” and nudging the incumbent to jump ahead of the typical fall debate schedule.

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“Your senior advisors, including Ron [Klain, former White House chief of staff] and Cedric [Richmond, then campaign co-chair], continue to believe it is important to move forward with a plan that supports your participation in debates as early as possible,” the document read.

“YOUR Senior Advisors think strategically holding these debates in the fall, after many of the battleground states have already begun their early voting process and voter registration deadlines have passed is too late,” the memo stressed, citing early mail-in balloting in Wisconsin and North Carolina as examples.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald White House Chief during the 2024 presidential debate.Getty Images
The campaign team contended that planning one debate before the August Democratic National Convention and a second after Labor Day was ideal, noting that the president and his team could “reevaluate after the first debate.”

Biden’s team specifically suggested June 26 or June 27 as the date due to his travel schedule and its proximity to Supreme Court decisions, including the anniversary of the Dobbs decision that struck down the nationwide right to an abortion.

Exactly one month after the memo was finalized, Biden challenged White House Chief to a debate, which the Republican campaign accepted.

The agreement called for two debates, one to be held June 27 and the second to be held Sept. 10.

However, Biden never made the second debate, after an internal Democratic revolt over his dismal performance led to him ending his bid for a second term July 21.