With This Single Brutally Honest Word, Stephen Colbert Fact-Checks Trump

The news that Donald Trump and Joe Biden will square off in a discussion for the presidency next month has drawn criticism from Stephen Colbert. Biden granted Trump's desire to have two debates with the president after he had been pleading with him for weeks. As reported by HuffPost, he remembered their 2020 encounters and added, "We all remember gathering with our friends and families on the couch to say, ‘Oh God. I hope this doesn’t happen again in four years’."

However, Trump expressed his excitement about taking on Biden once more. As reported by The Hill, on his Truth Social page, Trump wrote, "I am Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times in June and September. I would strongly recommend more than two debates and, for excitement purposes, a very large venue, although Biden is supposedly afraid of crowds – That’s only because he doesn’t get them. Just tell me when, I’ll be there. ‘Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!'"

Colbert continued, "Rumble? I’ve seen your rallies. I think you mean, ‘Let’s get ready to ramble'." CNN and ABC will broadcast two separate debates in June and September when the current and previous US presidents will square off against one another. The first debate between the two will take place at CNN's Atlanta studios on June 27 and will be hosted by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. This will be their first discussion of the current election season. On Wednesday, May 15, both Trump and Biden informed their fans via social media of the news.

Biden shared on Twitter, "I’ve received and accepted an invitation from @CNN for a debate on June 27th. Over to you, Donald. As you said: anywhere, any time, any place." In another post, he wrote, "Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate. Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal."

During his show, Colbert restated to his listeners Biden's requirements for the debate, including his need for an empty studio with microphones configured to silence speakers who go over their allocated time. Furthering this, Colbert compared Trump to 'the world’s angriest mime' and imagined him being muffled by a microphone. Colbert said, "Joe Biden and Donald Trump have agreed to two presidential debates. Yeah, my friend. Just like that they’re going head to head, toe to toe, mano a mango." He concluded, "Imagine Trump with his mic cut. He’s gonna look like the world’s angriest mime."

The Biden campaign said that the incumbent president will not take part in the debates under the guidelines set down by the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has organized presidential debates since 1988, according to NPR. Jen O'Malley Dillon, the head of the Biden campaign, said that the committee was 'out of step with changes in the structure of our elections and the interests of voters.' Dillon stated, "As was the case with the original televised debates in 1960, a television studio with just the candidates and moderators is a better, more cost-efficient way to proceed."