Biden trolls Trump as he challenges him to debate face-off: ‘I hear you’re free on Wednesdays’

US president Joe Biden trolled Donald Trump about his ongoing criminal hush-money trial as he dared his rival to go head-to-head with him in a presidential debate.

“I hear you’re free on Wednesdays,” the president said, a reference to the weekly day off from the trial that is taking place in a Manhattan criminal court.

After a rapid back-and-forth between Mr Biden and the former president, the two men agreed to face-off on stage for the first time since 2020, on 27 June. The debate will be hosted by CNN at the network’s Atlanta headquarters, with a moderator to be announced closer to the time. No audience will be present, the network said in a press release.

In a post on Twitter/X, Mr Biden said his and Mr Trump’s campaign teams have also agreed to a second debate on 10 September, to be hosted by ABC.

“Trump says he’ll arrange his own transportation. I’ll bring my plane, too. I plan on keeping it for another four years,” he wrote.

The two candidates’ commitment to take part in the debates came after an exchange that took place on social media and in other public statements issued by the two presidential campaigns.

Mr Biden fired the starting pistol on Wednesday morning in a video released by his campaign, in which he proposed a series of two debates, one in June and the other in October.

The video shows the president declaring that Mr Trump lost both of the debates they participated in during the 2020 election cycle.

He went on to mock the former president for his refusal to show up for a single debate during the 2024 Republican primary, claiming that Mr Trump keeps accusing him of being unwilling to debate with him.

“Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again? Well, make my day, pal – I’ll even do it twice,” he