Retired Sen. Bob Dole took to Twitter on Friday to claim the Commission on Presidential Debates is biased against President Donald Trump. The tweet came amid a standoff between Trump's re-election campaign and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden over the second presidential debate. The commission made the second debate virtual after Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, but after Trump refused to participate, the debate was completely scrapped.
"The Commission on Presidential Debates is supposedly bipartisan w/ an equal number of Rs and Ds. I know all of the Republicans and most are friends of mine. I am concerned that none of them support [Trump]," Dole, who ran against President Bill Clinton in 1996, tweeted. "A biased Debate Commission is unfair." The tweet made Dole, 97, a trending topic on Twitter and set off a flurry of responses.
The commission considers itself nonpartisan, but Trump and other Republicans have accused them of bias against Trump. The commission's board of directors includes former Republican Senators John Danforth and Olympia Snowe, reports The Hill. All living former presidents also serve as honorary co-chairs. The Trump campaign first accused the commission of being biased against him when there were reports the commission was looking to change formats after the chaotic first debate when Trump frequently interrupted Biden and moderator Chris Wallace.
There were more allegations of bias against Trump flying after the commission made the Oct. 15 debate in Miami virtual because of Trump's coronavirus diagnosis. Trump refused, and his campaign proposed moving the second debate to Oct. 22 and rescheduling the third debate for Oct. 29. Biden's team rejected that proposal and they scheduled a town hall on ABC News for Oct. 15. The Oct. 22 debate in Nashville is still scheduled.