I do not recall that those arguments have been made on this thread. They seem to me to be more rational than arguments that Joe will be slipped the questions because the debate becomes virtual. This argument seems to me to be more persuasive than it'll please his conservative base, we don't have to worry about that.
And Trump certainly does have to worry about courting charges that play into the narrative that he is arrogant, that he shoots from the hip, that he is a bully, that he rejects a commission's ruling intended to save the Americans' lives out of pique. He is 27 days before an election, he needs to appear in a positive light not as a sore head.
I think Trump is perfectly justified from a moral point of view in telling the commission to go to hell, my criticism is that it is not smart politically. I make the criticism not because I don't like Trump, it's because I want him to be reelected.
“Look” isn’t the best way to begin a rejoinder.
You are correct that the specific arguments you listed have not been made in this thread... Your insistence that the “questions being slipped to Biden” argument is the only point that has been raised seems frivolous and argumentative.
More impactful is the fact that Biden’s “team” has all the advantage on presentation; control of the topics to be discussed, Biden’s ability to remain seated and comfortable during the debate, and avoidance of any un-prepared responses to questions from the debate audience, against the virtual format stripping President Trump of all of his perceived strengths; his ability to actually think, his forceful presence, along with his ability to go off script and challenge the basis of the question when that’s necessary.
The media-machine, already clearly shown to be in Biden’s corner controls the imaging, the audio, the timing of responses... That’s not a format designed to give those rare undecided voters a balanced or accurate view of the candidates or their policies.
In my opinion, only a fool would concern themselves with whether or not the media will accuse Trump of being arrogant, that he shoots from the hip, or that he is a bully. Those accusations will be forthcoming without regard to the debate format changes, or Trump’s response to it, or tomorrow’s sunrise. The media will not present this President in a positive light.
The moral point of view is the only point of view. Either you stand for something, or you fall for something.
Trump’s decision may be based on galvanizing the base. It is reminding the base how bad the media is. The extra voters he gets here may offset the undecided voters he loses. I hope he is right.
Another reason Americans should want live debates is to see if a potential leader has what it takes to stand up for America while communicating in person with foreign leaders.