Donald Trump challenged Joe Biden to a televised debate as his rivals raced toward a rematch for the White House after sweeping the Super Tuesday vote.
The Republican said he would participate in a televised forum with the Democratic president “anytime, anywhere, anywhere,” posting online in all caps.
Biden's campaign said Trump is “starved for attention and has struggled to expand his appeal.”
There are no agreed discussions so far ahead of the November elections.
Trump's challenge came hours after his last Republican rival, Nikki Haley, withdrew from the race for the Republican nomination for the White House.
Hours after Haley left office, Trump posted on his social media website Truth Social: “It is in the interest of our country that Joe Biden and I discuss issues of vital importance to America and the American people.'' It's important,” he posted. race.
He added that such a debate could be run by the Democratic National Committee, which has overseen presidential debates for the past 30 years, or the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Mr. Trump said the debate commission, which has declared itself nonpartisan but has been accused by conservatives of bias, is an “auxiliary arm” of the Democratic Party.
Trump, 77, has repeatedly claimed that Biden, 81, is elderly and forgetful and is too old to debate. Mr. Biden, in turn, suggested that it was Mr. Trump who was out of touch.
The White House press secretary was asked early Wednesday whether refusing to participate in the debate could cast doubt on Biden's “insight.” She suggested that the reporter talk about the president's re-election campaign.
The Biden campaign did not say whether it would participate in a debate against Trump, instead suggesting that Republicans focus on the president's State of the Union address to Congress on Thursday night.
“That's a conversation to have at the right time in this cycle,” said Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign's communications director.
“If he's desperate to see President Biden in prime time, there's no need to wait! Tomorrow night, you can join tens of millions of Americans who tune in to watch the State of the Union.” he continued.
Trump also said on Wednesday that he would be closely watching the State of the Union address and would “quickly revise” Biden's speech.
Trump was heavily criticized for refusing to participate in a televised debate with his Republican rivals for the White House nomination this election season.
He claimed at the time that he had nothing to gain from such a forum, citing his large lead in opinion polls.
Biden and Trump debated twice during the 2020 election.