Trump attack on presidential debate commission ‘paves the way to violence,’ Danforth says
Former Missouri Republican Sen. John Danforth pushed back at President Donald Trump Tuesday for charging that the Commission on Presidential Debates is partisan and corrupt, warning that such an accusation “paves the way to violence in the streets.”
“It is not the honor of the commission that is at stake here. What is at stake is Americans’ belief in the fairness of our presidential debates and, in turn, the presidential election,” Danforth wrote in a Washington Post op-ed. “When that faith is undermined, the damage to our country is incalculable.”
Danforth, a three-term senator (1976-1995) and longtime commission member, argued against Trump’s complaints about Fox News moderator Chris Wallace (“terrible and biased”) and attacks from Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, who recently proposed to cancel the commission before calling it a “disgrace” on Twitter.
Danforth helped recruit Hawley for the Missouri Senate race in 2018.
“The conclusion that any commission member would eschew fair play to push a partisan position is, to put it mildly, ironic. The same people who decline to extend the presumption of fairness to members of the commission rightly assert that Amy Coney Barrett will put aside her personal beliefs on the Supreme Court.”
As for Trump’s charge that remote town-hall events potentially favoring Biden ... Danforth called it “nonsense,” saying the commission’s sole concern was the health and safety of both the citizens and production staff attending.
Danforth also dismissed Trump team allegations that foreign policy was excluded as a debate topic to favor Biden. He pointed out that all debate subjects are chosen by moderators and are beyond the purview of the commission itself.
In the end, Danforth said it was fair to criticize the debate commission’s decisions, but out of line to accuse it of malfeasance.
“The first is helpful for improving our work,” Danforth said. “The second destroys public confidence in the most basic treasure of democracy, the conduct of fair elections. The second paves the way to violence in the streets.”
The final presidential debate between Biden and Trump is scheduled for Thursday.
