President Joe Biden isn’t making an imminent decision on former President Donald Trump‘s demands to debate him ahead of the general election, Democratic strategists close to his campaign say.

Neither Biden nor Trump has yet cleared the delegate threshold to secure their party’s nomination, but the dueling, post-Super Tuesday campaign suspensions of Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley move the nation one step closer to a 2024 Biden-Trump rematch.

Trump, who chose to skip every Republican presidential primary debate, reacted to this semi-new phase of the 2024 election cycle by declaring himself open to debating Biden.

“It is important, for the Good of our Country, that Joe Biden and I Debate Issues that are so vital to America, and the American People. Therefore, I am calling for Debates, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday. “The Debates can be run by the Corrupt DNC, or their Subsidiary, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). I look forward to receiving a response. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Both Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee declined to comment on a Biden-Trump debate.

Still, four Democratic campaign operatives expressed skepticism to the Washington Examiner that Biden would accept Trump’s challenge, at least anytime in the immediate future.

“I don’t necessarily expect President Biden to shy away from debating Donald Trump, but agreeing to this right now, on Trump’s terms, what’s in it for him?” one operative joked. “Nothing except legitimizing a wannabe dictator who was too scared of debating his own ultra-MAGA challengers.”

“Trump is desperate, and, honestly, it would be a little funny if democracy weren’t on the line,” a second strategist added.

Biden has a sizable fundraising advantage over Trump with just over eight months until the general election, and a third Democratic operative suggested that Biden can literally afford to flood the zone with ads and focus on governing rather than debating Trump.

“President Biden has a major leg up on Trump in that the country is intimately aware of who these men are. He doesn’t need to get onstage and expose Trump’s real beliefs,” that person told the Washington Examiner. “Plus, not tacitly agreeing to Trump’s demands will likely infuriate him, and the more rope the president gives him, the better.”

This isn’t the first time Trump has sought to wrangle Biden into a debate before the primaries end. He similarly declared himself open to debating the president during interviews in December and February, which the president himself waved off while campaigning in Nevada.

“Well, if I were him, I’d want to debate me, too,” Biden told reporters on Feb. 6. “He’s got nothing else to do.”

Two Democratic strategists familiar with Biden’s campaign plans did tell the Washington Examiner that the president’s team has been frustrated with the “onslaught” of questions about Biden’s age and fitness for office and pointed to general election debates as a strong forum to push back on those concerns.

“The president’s age isn’t a secret, but I think some people are underestimating just how much Trump has aged since leaving office, let alone 2016,” one strategist explained. “Republicans fell in love with him after those debates during the 2016 primary. His performance was unconventional, disrespectful, but effective. Now, if you’ve watched his speeches this election, you’d see him confuse names while spouting more nonsense than lies. He couldn’t debate his way out of a paper bag, and that’s why he dodged DeSantis and Haley.”

Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday similarly pushed back on concerns about this, another Democratic operative told the Washington Examiner.

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That person pointed to Biden’s forceful tone, frequent attacks on Trump, and animated exchanges with dissenting Republicans during the remarks as evidence that Biden is “up to the challenge” of another four years in office.

“My fellow Americans, the issue facing our nation isn’t how old we are. It’s how old are our ideas,” Biden said Thursday night. “Hate, anger, revenge, retribution are the oldest of ideas, but you can’t lead America with ancient ideas that only take us back. To lead America, the land of possibilities, you need a vision for the future and what can and should be done.”