Biden says he plans to debate Trump

A dozen leading US news organizations have also urged the candidates to publicly commit to debating each other.

Their statement suggested that debates for the current race be sponsored, as they have every election cycle since 1988, by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.

Biden's camp has been concerned that once on stage Trump will not abide by rules set by the Commission, and some Biden advisers say they would prefer not to elevate Trump by putting him on the same stage with the Democratic incumbent.

Biden has a lead among registered voters of 41 per cent to 37 per cent over Trump, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found earlier this month.

Asked during a trip to Las Vegas in early February about Trump calling for Biden to debate him, Biden said, "If I were him, I would want to debate me too. He's got nothing to do."

Biden and Trump faced each other in two televised presidential election debates during the 2020 campaign.