Index for the first time today after 139 years of history, just seconds to go before the close and the lead with jake tapper starts now ladies and gentlemen, two president ial debates have been sets. The lead starts right now President Biden and former President Trump, putting it in writing, saying that they will face off in two debates, one and just weeks here on cnn. The political jams already are flying okay, really seriously, where is Rudy Giuliani . The onetime Trump Attorney is still missing nearly three weeks after word of an indictment and officials in arizona trying to serve him with papers, charging him in alleged election scheme and their states. So how extensive has this search been plus the charges that could soon beyond the way for boeing . One of the biggest Plane Manufacturers in the world after all those investigations into deadly crashes of 7307 Max Airplanes this is Breaking News welcome to the lean. Im jake tapper. We are starting with Breaking News in the money lead, a record. Close for the dow flirting with a major milestone nearing the 40,000 mark after two big economic reports out today, one showing us inflation easing off tumor prices up 3. 4 for the 12 months ending in april, compared to 3. 5 the month before the other Report Showing Retail Sales were flat unchanged during april turning to are 2024 lead mark your calendars for june 27th after a whirlwind of de both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have committed to not one, but two president ial debates. The first one coming up right here on cnn in just six weeks in which i will call along with my colleague dana bash, it cnn studios in atlanta, thursday, june 27th, that will be followed by a second debate hosted by abc news in september and while sources say the two president ial campaigns have been informally discussing debate plans for weeks, this all seem to get kicked into high gear this morning when President Biden released this video trump lost two debates to me in 20 0. 20 that he hadnt shown up for debate. Now hes acting like he wants to debate me again well, make my day pal. Ill even do it twice lets pick the dates, donald, i hear youre free On Wednesdays that last comment, snarky jab at Donald TrumpsCourt Schedule in new york trial is not held On Wednesdays like today in response to bidens offer mr. Trump posted on truth social quote, i am ready and willing to debate crooked joe at the two proposed times in june and septemr, i would strongly recommend more than two debate sant for excitement purposes of very large venue. Although biden is supposedly afraid of crowds, thats only because he doesnt get them. Just tell me when ill be there. Lets get ready to rumble. He says cnns jeff zeleny starts off our coverage. Geoff, take us through how this all came together and also what are the rules for these two things . Faceoffs, jenkins, you know, i mean, former President Donald Trump has been talking for months about this. Never mind, he did not debate in the primary season, but this morning, President Biden took him up on the offer and you also want up to him on the rules. He said itll be a oneonone contests, no audience, and it will be held in june, almost three months before the debates would have been held. If the rules had gone before. But all this question is hes shaking up the conversation about to debate. The question is going his Debate Performance, shakeup, the race will make my day pal. Ill even do it twice with those words today President Biden, formally challenged and donald trump quickly accepted two president ial debates with their first facetoface encounter now set for late next month on cnn, the june 27th showdown, followed by a second one on September 10th on abc, would become the earliest president ial debates in memory. A sign that both rivals are eager to appear sidebyside to gain advantage in their historic rematch after week some taunting from trump, who often deploys an extra podium as a prop. Thats for joe biden. Im trying to get him to debate the Biden Campaign sought to gain the upper hand and the debate over debates in a video today found trump lost two debates to me in 2020. It sends said he hadnt shown up for debate. Now hes acting like he wants to debate me again. Pick the dates. Donald, i hear youre free On Wednesdays. That message and not so veiled reference to the former president s criminal trial now underway in new york court is not in session On Wednesdays, even as he accepted two debates, trump called for more. I really think he has to debate. He might as well get it over with probably should do it early so that he. Can hes not going to get any better televise debates have long been a storied part of president ial campaigns. With historymaking moments for candidates. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponents youth and inexperience and theyre running mates. I served with jack kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine senator, youre no, jack kennedy. But American History offers no modernday guide for a sequel because they want again if i would tell them, hey, if i may ask a question, sir, would you would use the word smart so you said you went to Delaware State but you forgot the name of your college . He racist the worst, whereas america has ever had as their 2024 contest intensifies biden trump are both hoping and to keep the debate stage free of thirdparty candidates like robert f. Kennedy jr. Who blasted his rivals saying they are trying to exclude me from their debate because they are afraid i would win advisers to biden and trump have been working behind the scenes in an effort to bypass the commission on president ial debates the group has organized such forum since 1988. And at three president ial and one Vice President ial debate already set for this fall in a statement today, the commission said, the American Public deserves substantive debates. We will continue to be ready to exit acute this plan when the Biden Campaign is eager to have americans focus on this race and the choice between him and the former president and sooner rather than later, jake talking to biden advisers today, one described this, rey says stubbornly stable. So they are hoping that his Debate Performance in an earlier stage will shake up this race. Now, not debating, im told was not an option for him because they simply did not want this dogging them for the rest of the campaign. The question is though, can he show american these up for the task thats one of the central questions of his campaign. I believe the third party rules, its just in order to be on that stage, you have to be on ballot in enough states that 270 electoral votes as possible, right . Is that the thing it is possible . And are those are the rules thats why its not likely that there will be a third party yeah, of course, that rarely happens. Ross perot, of course, being the last one, but the Kennedy Campaign has been getting on ballots, no doubt, but not that many, no, not enough to reach 270 electoral votes. Lets thanks so much, justice, ellen, i want to bring and cnn political director david chang. David put into context how big a moment this is for the campaigns i have to admit i thought it was entirely possible there wouldnt be debates. Yeah, i clearly we have seen each campaign jake make the calculation. A debate is in their interest for one on the bottom inside as jeff just laid out, because you dont want to be dogged that youre afraid to debate. And for donald trump, he, he is eager for the contrast on the stage physically sidebyside, as we know, throughout this entire campaign, hes made that clear to stand on the stage with joe biden. I would just say because of the stability of the race, there really is a potential for this to be a major shaking up kind of event. Its also got massive historical significance. Jake, i mean, you and i were not around for those televised debates in 18 92, but we havent seen a former president of the United States who was defeated as president. Debate the guy who succeeded him as president on the stage together in a televised debate. Its just a totally unprecedented situation. So much of this election could be described that way. Thank you for acknowledging i was not there for the Grover Cleveland debate. I appreciate it. David, will, cnns debate differ . In. Any key ways from those and past election years. Well, one of the things that is pretty clear from both cnn and abc in terms of what they put out is that there will be no audience Studio Audience in this debate. It will be the candidates and the moderators. Now, in recent present is it actual debate history . We have seen in those debates put on by the commission on president ial debates, that there isnt audience. And at times, even if they are guided, not to clap or jira or what have you that they have been sort of participants in these debates. So that to me is one of the biggest differences the Audience Factor is not the case here. Audience will be all the american odors at home, getting the information they need to make this monumental choice. I will say, and obviously its different, but i will say having done a few debates now in my career, the one that we did during covid in march 2020 between president now President Biden and senator bernie sanders. It had, it had no audience because it was covid was hitting and it was actually there were just a lot of exchanges because this the dynamic was so different. Yeah, it allows for more exchanges. And i think it allows for the substance of the debate to be the star of the show. All right. Well, lets see what happens. David sharing and thanks so much. Thanks. I really appreciate it again, the very first 2024 General Election president ial debate is set and i will be there a moderating along with my friend and colleague dana bash. It will be june 27th, 9 00 p. M. Eastern only here on cnn. This has been a day off in the new york hush money trial, but not a day off from planning for the trial coming up next, what cnn as learning about the new crossexamination strategy that Donald TrumpsDefense Team Plans to use when Michael Cohen returns to the stand tomorrow, plus the deadly baltimore Bridge Collapse, what an investigation is now reviewing feeling about what went wrong on the cargo ship in the minutes and hours before that ship slammed into the span this is a secret secret and spies premier sunday, june 2, that tan long cnn, did you know theres no p and scatchard . When you told about rome v is always yeah get to slippery it tmds get to slip in with and lip. You please. Robert carbine. 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This comes after the combative Cross Yesterday or defense attorney todd blanche painted cohen as a liar who hates trump and wants to see him behind bars and is motivated by making money off of this hatred of trumps units, karatay canals with us now. So carry have some new reporting on the tactics that we understand the defense team, Donald Trumps team will take tomorrow lets take it seems like theyre going to continue to focus on trying to undermine Michael Cohens credibility and focus him on suggesting that he is a liar and the one area that they didnt get into, but that theyve said that they want two is some of cohens past statements under oath. That is when he pled guilty and then also when he testified at the Civil Fraud Trial in the fall, it was then when Michael Cohen was on the stand, he went back and forth saying that he had previously lied when he pleaded guilty because hes saying that he wasnt guilty of tax fraud in these other charges. The prosecution tried to get ahead of that when cohen was under direct examination, but its an area that trumps lawyers are expected to try to dig more into, to try to suggest to the jury that cohen is not afraid to line. Hes not afraid to lie under oath. They also havent gotten into any of the substance of the actual criminal allegations in this case. So well look for them to ask cohen some questions. Chins about his alleged conversations with donald trump. So the defense, Donald Trumps team says that they plan to spend most of tomorrow on cross. But Michael Cohen is expected to be the prosecutions last witness. So what does the timeline look like for the rest of the trial . I mean, could this be over . By next week . It could jake. I mean, things seem like they have really sped up now, Michael Cohen is expected to be the prosecutions last witness. They said theyre not going to call anyone else trumps lawyers said that they might call an expert, but they wont know until they have a discussion with the judge tomorrow afternoon about what the guy can testify about and what he cant testify about. If they dont call that witness. The question then is, does donald trump take the stand and trumps lawyers said that has not yet been determined, but that will be the next big question. And if trump doesnt, then they would move pretty quickly to Closing Arguments and then the jury could get the case and deliberations could begin as soon as next week, if donald trump does take the stand then that changes this timeline pretty significantly. So i got to sit it in on one day of The Trial Last Thursday was fascinating. You been sitting inside there for going on for weeks. Now, whats it been like to watch this historic trial play out right in front of you . In some ways, this is like any other trial ive covered more than two dozen trials because the judge is handling this as a normal case, these Trading Trump just like anyone else to prosecutions putting the on their case, trump is putting on his crossexaminatio n of these