Donald Trump Refuses To Attend Virtual Debates, Joe Biden Rejects Proposed Rescheduling Date

Suddenly, it is unclear whether US President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden will meet again in the debate, where they could meet, and whether they would meet in person or virtually on video screens.

Thursday’s comings and goings began when the nonpartisan Presidential Debate Commission announced that next week’s event in Miami would be virtual after Trump tested positive for the coronavirus and amid questions about whether it is still contagious.

The president’s reelection campaign was abruptly pulled from that event, while Biden’s advisers suggested it could be delayed for a week until October 22 (local time).

Trump’s team accepted that date, but said a third debate should be held on October 29, just before Election Day, and said it will not accept virtual substitutes.

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The Biden campaign quickly rejected the debate on October 29.

Despite the debate between the two campaigns, ultimately, it is the commission that must decide. And even if Trump and Biden can agree on dates, the logistics could be a nightmare. Finding venues willing to reschedule on such short notice, in the midst of a pandemic, won’t be easy, and it’s just as uncertain where events in Miami and then Nashville could take place, as planned.

It’s yet another example of the pandemic reversing the presidential race, further disrupting the president’s efforts to shift focus from a virus that has killed more than 210,000 Americans this year.

After Trump said he would skip next week’s debate if it were virtual, Biden’s campaign responded by calling for next Thursday’s town hall-style event, the second debate for the candidates, to be delayed a week so that the president cannot. do what. evade responsibility ”.

Trump’s advisers countered shortly thereafter by saying that the second debate should be postponed until October 22 and that a third should be rescheduled for the following week, just before Election Day. And they again insisted that the candidates must meet face to face.

Biden’s campaign responded: “Donald Trump is not on the debate calendar; the Debate Committee does it ”.

The commission made its original decision to go virtual citing the need to “protect the health and safety of all those involved with the second presidential debate.” Some staff members associated with the production of the debate raised security concerns after Trump tested positive for the virus after his first confrontation with Biden last week, according to a person familiar with the matter.

But Trump, who is recovering from Covid-19 at the White House after spending three days in the hospital, insisted he is in “very good shape” and called the idea of ​​a debate other than face-to-face one ” joke”.

“I’m not going to do a virtual debate,” he told Fox Business moments after the original announcement.

Biden’s campaign said it was prepared to move forward with the virtual debate next Thursday, but also called for the city council’s version to be rescheduled for October 22 with questions from voters.

Shortly thereafter, Trump 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien responded that “the American people should not be deprived of the opportunity to see the two presidential candidates debate face-to-face two more times just because the Committee on Presidential Debates wants to protect Joe Biden. “

With less than four weeks to go until Election Day and millions of voters casting their early votes, pressure is being put on Trump to change a campaign that is behind Biden nationally and on most battlefields. where the margin is narrower. A debate before an audience of tens of millions of viewers could provide that reboot.

But another debate could also expose Trump to political risk. Republican strategists say the party’s support began to erode after its seething performance against Biden last week when it failed to clearly denounce a white supremacist group.

Trump’s apparent unwillingness to change his style to win back the voters he needs, particularly women, was on display again Thursday during his Fox Business interview when he referred to Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris as a ” monster”.

The president’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, said Trump would host a rally instead of a debate next Thursday, although it is not yet clear whether he will be well enough to do so.

“That the swamp creatures on the Presidential Debate Committee are now rushing to defend Joe Biden by unilaterally canceling an in-person debate is pathetic,” Stepien said in a statement.

“The safety of everyone involved can easily be achieved without canceling the opportunity for voters to see both candidates go head-to-head. We will pass this sad excuse to rescue Joe Biden and have a rally. “

This is not the first time that Trump has skipped a debate. During the 2016 Republican primary, he boycotted the last debate before the nation’s first caucus in Iowa, instead organizing a fundraiser for veterans, a move he later speculated may have contributed to his loss in the state.

Boarding a flight to campaign in Arizona on Thursday, Biden said it would be “irresponsible” for him to comment on Trump’s decision.

“We don’t know what the president is going to do,” Biden said. “Change your mind every second.”

It was unclear if Biden would attend the debate alone or if the event would be ruled out entirely. When asked about that prospect, Biden said: “We don’t know enough to know at this point.”

His deputy campaign manager, Kate Bedingfield, simply said that Biden “looks forward to speaking directly to the American people.”

She said in a statement that Biden was prepared to accept a virtual city hall “but the president has refused, as Donald Trump clearly does not want to face questions from voters about his failures in Covid and the economy.”

Instead, Bedingfield said, Biden “will find an appropriate place to answer voters’ questions directly on Oct. 15, as he has done on several occasions in recent weeks.” But he also asked the commission to delay the scheduled municipal debate by one week, until October 22.

“Voters should have the opportunity to ask questions of both candidates, directly,” Bedingfield said. “Every presidential candidate since 1992 has participated in such an event, and it would be a shame if Donald Trump were the first to refuse.”

Stepien suggested that the decision to go fully virtual would benefit Biden, but added: “We agree that this should happen on October 22 and consequently the third debate should be delayed for a week until October 29.” . Election day is November 3.

Bedingfield who rejected the October 29 proposal.

Biden said earlier in the week that he was “looking forward to a debate,” but added that he and Trump “shouldn’t have a debate” as long as the president remains positive on Covid.

Trump fell ill with the virus last Thursday, just 48 hours after debating Biden in person in Cleveland. While the two candidates stayed a dozen feet apart during the debate, Trump’s infection raised health concerns for Biden and sent him to undergo multiple Covid-19 tests before returning to the election campaign.

Trump was still carrying the virus when he was discharged from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday, but his doctors have not provided any detailed updates on his status.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with mild to moderate symptoms of Covid-19 can be contagious for up to, and must be isolated for at least 10 days.

Biden has repeatedly tested negative for the virus since then, but his campaign has declined to say whether his quarantine was ever discussed. After Arizona, the former vice president was scheduled to campaign Friday in Las Vegas.