Given Joe Biden’s clearly declining mental state, many on the Right — and now obviously some on the Left — have wondered how he could possibly hold up against President Donald Trump over the course of three debates. It’s not hard to imagine Biden, midway through an argument, wanting to reference America’s founding and suddenly forgetting, oh, say the preamble to the Declaration of Independence.

There’s a reason Democrats have kept Biden hidden away in his basement far away from any campaigning — they can’t risk exposing to the American public just how far gone Biden’s mental acuity actually is. Given this reality, was his campaign really going to let him face off against Trump? We’re beginning to get an answer, and it could be “no” — that is, if Democrats can get enough of the public to let Biden slide.

On Thursday, the Democrats initiated their “No Debate” strategy when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters seemingly out of the blue, “I don’t think there should be any debates.” She defended her argument by using the Left’s patented character-assignation tactic, asserting, “I do not think that the president of the United States has comported himself in a way that has any association with truth, evidence, data, and facts. I wouldn’t legitimize a conversation with him, nor a debate in terms of the presidency of the United States.” That talking point lays the groundwork for the mainstream media to question whether Trump, not Biden, is the one wholly unfit for the debates.

In a way, Pelosi is actually following the Leftmedia’s lead, as leftist pundits began questioning the legitimacy of the debates months ago. “What could we possibly learn from three debates between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, besides the fact that it’s time we did away with them entirely?” Alex Shephard of the New Republic asked in July. Never mind the obvious answer of clarity over Biden’s mental fitness. Zac Petkanas, Hillary Clinton’s former adviser, asserted, “Biden shouldn’t feel obligated to throw Trump a lifeline by granting him any debates at all. This is not a normal presidential election, and Trump is not a legitimate candidate.” He’s wrong on both counts, but you get the idea.

Biden’s campaign was quick to seemingly push back against Pelosi’s suggestion. Campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said, “We certainly agree with Speaker Pelosi on her views of the president’s behavior, but just as she has powerfully confronted that behavior in the Oval Office and the Cabinet Room, Joe Biden looks forward to doing the same on the debate stage.” Of course, the last thing Biden wants is to look like he’s eagerly looking for an excuse to pull out of the debates.

The first presidential debate is scheduled for September 29. That gives Democrats and the Biden campaign a month to see if the no-debate argument gains traction. They may even be willing to risk Biden engaging in the first debate, only afterwards to insist, with feigned exasperation over Trump’s “skullduggery,” that he should not be dignified with any further debates — especially should Biden come off poorly in that debate.