Joe Biden playing chicken over debates with Donald Trump

Which is why the former president should force the issue as much as possible and demand the 81-year-old Biden face off in at least three 90-minute debates with unbiased moderators.

The TV networks want it, and the public deserves to see the two elderly likely nominees who both are facing questions about their mental sharpness go at it for three nights.

Only then will the public really be able to judge who is fit to be president.

It's a losing issue for the often stumbling Biden, who understandably is wary about debating anyone, let alone the bombastic and aggressive Trump.

Democrats are already cautioning Biden to avoid debating Trump, arguing that it will only legitimize the 77-year-old former president facing multiple indictments, including charges of inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.

"I would think twice about it," Sen. Dick Durbin said. "I've been physically present at one of (Trump's) debates with Hillary Clinton, and I watched him do outrageous things and say outrageous things. It's just an opportunity for him to display his extremism."

And Biden's campaign has so far refused to commit to any debates, saying they would "look at the schedule" of debates planned by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

But deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks told reporters last year that their "focus is on making sure we continue to build out a campaign and infrastructure that's going to be able to be competitive in 2024."

Biden's never going to commit and Trump would be wise to raise the debates every day on the stump to shame Biden into agreeing to face off.

Forget Nikki Haley — she's in the rearview mirror after her second place finish in New Hampshire.

Trump has refused to debate Haley, but it hasn't seemed to hurt him yet with voters. She will be rendered irrelevant if she can't win and is the least of Trump's problems.

Democrats will continue to try and muck up Trump legally and stop him from getting on the ballot. But it's possible the U.S. Supreme Court will make sure Democrats don't prevail.

Trump should do his best to focus squarely on Biden in the coming weeks, and ignore the legal traps.

Biden won't even answer questions from reporters, walking off the stage if he can find his way off the stage.

The allegedly non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates has already scheduled three debates, the first on Sept. 16 at Texas State University. The vice presidential debate is scheduled on Sept. 25 at Lafayette College while the two other presidential showdowns are planned for Oct. 1 at Virginia State University and Oct. 9 at the University of Utah.

But of course either Trump or Biden can blow off those debates.

Trump has said he would participate in the commission debates, even though he thinks "they are totally corrupt and terrible."

"We have to debate," Trump said last year. "He and I have to definitely debate."

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Joe Battenfeld
Boston Herald/(TNS)

Joe Battenfeld is a veteran Boston Herald political columnist and multimedia reporter.