Sen. Graham: If Trump, Biden debate looks staged it’ll hurt Biden

(NewsNation) — One of former President Donald Trump’s most vocal supporters on Capitol Hill is eager to see how Trump and President Joe Biden will fare in an audience-free, muted-microphone debate.

“Can … Trump and Biden … convince people they’re better than the other guy?” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., pondered in an appearance on NewsNation’s “On Balance.”

“Can he stand up there for an hour, both of them, be asked questions and give solid answers?”

Graham repeated his support for Trump and his debate abilities, saying, “I like Trump’s chance to be energetic, to be engaging, articulate the difference between what he did as president and what Biden is doing.”

Fending off questions about Trump’s ability to debate, Graham said the greater challenge will be Biden’s.

“He owes it to the American people to explain to them where we’re at and where we’re gonna go. I’m looking forward to that.”

In a flurry of exchanges and social media posts, the president and the former president agreed to two debates: June 27 on CNN and Sept. 10 on ABC. Also, the Biden campaign said it would not participate in the Commission on Presidential Debates’ proposed events. One big reason: early voting.

“The Commission’s schedule has debates that begin after the American people have a chance to cast their vote early,” the campaign told the commission.

“The Commission’s failure, yet again, to schedule debates that will be meaningful to all voters … underscores the serious limitations of its outdated approach.”