Donald Trump refused to participate in a virtual debate (Archive)
Washington:
The Committee on Presidential Debates said Friday it canceled next week’s showdown between Donald Trump and his challenger Joe Biden after the president said he would not participate in a virtual format.
“Each (candidate) has now announced alternative plans for that date,” the commission said in a statement, adding that “it is now clear that there will be no debate on October 15.”
The measure leaves just one more debate on the calendar, on Oct. 22 in Nashville, Tennessee, before the Nov. 3 election.
Debates have been a feature of every US presidential election since 1976, with three debates near the end of a campaign, the standard since 2000.
The commission had announced Thursday that it was turning the Oct. 15 town hall debate into a virtual matter as a precaution because Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus.
But the president, who has been eager to get back on the campaign trail and hold live events, refused to participate in the virtual format and unsuccessfully sought to return it to a face-to-face debate.
Biden had said earlier this week that he would not discuss Trump in person if he still had the virus, and his campaign called Trump’s refusal to adapt to a virtual format as “embarrassing.”
“It’s embarrassing that Donald Trump avoided the only debate where voters can ask the questions, but it’s no surprise,” said Biden spokesman Andrew Bates.
Trump “doesn’t have the guts to answer for his record to the voters at the same time as Vice President Biden.”
Meanwhile, the US president plans to hold his first live event at the White House since he was diagnosed with Covid-19.
All attendees will be asked to wear the masks they must bring and will need to show up for a Covid-19 screening (Saturday) morning. This will consist of a temperature check and a short questionnaire, according to a source familiar with the preparations.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated channel.)
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