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The campaigns of Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden exchanged accusations Tuesday, just hours before the date of the first televised debate.
The campaigns of Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden exchanged accusations Tuesday, just hours before the date of their first televised debate.
Trump’s team said Biden’s campaign had breached an agreement that required candidates before the debate to undergo an inspection to verify that they did not have electronic speakers, and demanded several breaks during the debate.
“Of course he won’t put on the headphones, and we never ask for breaks,” Kate Bidingfield, Joe Biden’s deputy campaign manager, was quoted as saying by The Washington Post during a conference call.
Bedingfield responded by saying, “If we’re going to get involved in this game, you know the Trump team asked Chris Wallace (presenter) not to mention the Covid-19 death toll even once in the debate.”
“You can take this as confirmation of the Biden campaign,” he said, adding, “Did you see how easy it is to bring in distractions?
Trump campaign spokesman Tim Marto denied that such a request was made by the “Fox News” host who will lead the debate Tuesday night at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio.
He continued in a statement: “This is a lie, this matter has not happened at all”, adding: “It is the peak of the politicization of a public health crisis.”
The spokesman accused Biden of “attempting to divert attention from his lack of commitment to undergo an inspection for the presence of headphones, or to undergo a test for doping, and of needing several breaks during a 90-minute debate.” .
Trump has long considered his Democratic opponent to have dementia, and recently hinted at his drug abuse, demanding that he be tested, a request that Biden scoffed at.
Trump and Biden are due to hold three debates before the November 3 presidential election.
Currently, Biden is ahead of Trump in national polls.