The Republican National Committee announced that it has unanimously voted to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates, saying that from now on, candidates won’t participate in debates unless they have been sanctioned by the party.
On Thursday, the Republican National Committee announced that it has unanimously voted to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has been responsible for overseeing presidential debates since the 1980s.
The RNC says that, from now on, it will require candidates to sign a pledge that they won’t participate in general election or primary debates unless the debate has been sanctioned by the party, accordingThis is a significant decision and an escalation from President Donald Trump’s previous grievances with the debate commission.
The debate commission was formed as a nonprofit in 1987 with sponsorship from both Republican and Democratic parties. The RNC has signaled in the past months that it will be withdrawing candidates from debates. Earlier this year, the committee sent a letter to the debate commission threatening to leave if the commission didn’t reorganize its format.