Biden campaign jabs Trump over reported plans to skip GOP debate

The Biden campaign on Friday seized on reports that Donald Trump will skip the first GOP primary debate in Wisconsin, arguing the state is a symbol of the former president’s “failed leadership.”

“Of course Donald Trump wants to avoid appearing in Wisconsin because he knows Wisconsin is a state that illustrates his failed leadership,” Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said in a statement.

“Just this week, Foxconn announced another move out of the state. Wisconsinites soundly rejected his ongoing efforts to ban abortion in the state’s Supreme Court election earlier this year,” Munoz said. “He cannot hide from the fact that Wisconsinites rejected him in 2020, and will reject the MAGA agenda again in 2024.”

The Biden campaign statement came hours after The New York Times reported that Trump has told advisers he will skip next week’s GOP debate in Milwaukee and instead may sit for an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

A Trump campaign spokesperson said nothing had been confirmed yet.

The Biden campaign is teaming up with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to run “a new, aggressive paid media campaign,” around the debate next week, according to officials. The DNC will also launch a billboard campaign across Milwaukee, the site of the debate, including three standing billboards and a billboard truck that will circle the debate venue.