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.
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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.
Maybe—bear with me—the Commission is just concerned that Trump will infect everybody with COVID-19 and that definitely is not something their insurance will cover.
— Pé (@4everNeverTrump) October 9, 2020
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.
Bob Dole is concerned that none of the Republicans on the Debate Commission support Donald Trump.
— JRehling (@JRehling) October 9, 2020
I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that that’s what happens when you nominate a lunatic. It’s not everybody else’s responsibility to adjust.
Manafort was the Chairman of the Republican Convention when Bob Dole was the presidential nominee.
— Alexandra Chalupa (@AlexandraChalup) October 10, 2020
Bob Dole was one of Oleg Deripaska’s first lobbyists.
Dole has worked for years on behalf of foreign interests over Americans’ interests. No one should listen to him. He sold out. https://t.co/iaAJ5nKOAK
Bob Dole is right. https://t.co/dkbFIg1DW9
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) October 9, 2020
Dear Bob Dole: Being a Republican or Democrat does not and should not automatically equate to blindly supporting a President of the same Party. Our oath (whether Republican or Democrat) is first and foremost to the United States of America — not a particular Party. https://t.co/JxBbLmf3jx
— MuslimMarine (@mansoortshams) October 9, 2020
In light of Bob Dole’s lament about Republicans who don’t support Trump, I think this is a great opportunity for every GOP candidate to publicly restate their 100% support for Trump and his behavior.
— Schooley (@Rschooley) October 9, 2020
