Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the presumed candidates for the 2024 U.S. Presidential election, are set to have their first debate in four years in June. President Biden announced on May 15 that he had accepted an invitation from CNN for a presidential debate on June 27, challenging Trump to respond. Trump, in a statement to Fox News, confirmed that he accepted the date and expressed his readiness to debate President Biden on his social media platform, Truth Social.
However, Trump’s participation in the debate may be affected by his ongoing legal troubles. He is required to appear in a New York courtroom as a defendant in a criminal trial involving hush money payments and falsification of business records related to the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. It is uncertain whether his other pending criminal cases in the District of Columbia, Florida, and Georgia could conflict with the June debate.
If confirmed, the debate will take place before either candidate officially accepts their party’s nomination for President. The Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention are expected to occur in August and July, respectively. Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is trailing behind Biden and Trump in the polls, has claimed that he has been excluded from the debate.
During the race to become the Republican Party nominee, candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis frequently discussed issues related to cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies. As recently as May 8, Trump expressed his support for crypto during a dinner for his supporters who purchased his nonfungible tokens. However, he has previously referred to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as a scam.
Many lawmakers and industry leaders who seem to support President Biden have urged him to consider the voting preferences of crypto-focused individuals in the 2024 election. Some have criticized the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its enforcement actions against crypto firms under the Biden administration. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has also been vocal about her opposition to digital assets through legislation and public statements.
Although President Biden rarely speaks about digital assets personally, he has used his position to oppose legislation and policies that many in the crypto space reject. On May 8, as the House of Representatives considered passing a joint resolution to overturn an SEC policy on banks holding crypto, President Biden stated that he would veto the measure. The resolution was passed by the House with the support of 21 Democratic lawmakers and is now heading to the Senate.
The last time President Biden and Trump faced each other in person was during the first U.S. Presidential debate in September 2020. Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, later revealed in his book that the former president had been diagnosed with COVID-19 days before the debate but had kept it hidden.
During the previous debates, neither Biden nor Trump discussed cryptocurrency or blockchain. President Biden’s campaign website did not have a specific ‘issues’ page for his policy positions at the time, while Trump’s website included his stance on the economy but did not mention digital assets.
Democratic Representative Wiley Nickel expressed concern in a May 11 post that many crypto owners are single-issue voters and that they may be lost in the upcoming presidential election.
Given the lack of clear positions on crypto from both major candidates, it remains uncertain whether the technology will be a topic of discussion during the June 27 debate or the second debate scheduled for September 10. The U.S. Election Day is set for November 5.