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- Former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign team said Thursday, after President Donald Trump withdrew from the upcoming debate, that Biden would hold a solo town hall.
- ABC News is scheduled to host City Hall in Philadelphia on October 15.
- After the Presidential Debate Committee announced early Thursday that the next debate would take place virtually, Trump, who has COVID-19, said he would not.
- After Biden’s announcement, the president’s campaign called for the second debate to be moved to October 22 and for the third to be held on October 29.
- Biden’s team responded by saying that “Trump’s erratic behavior does not allow him to rewrite the calendar.”
- Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign team announced Thursday that it would hold a solo town hall on Oct. 15 rather than participate in the upcoming presidential debate.
ABC News is ready to house the town hall in Philadelphia, with George Stephanopoulos as moderator.
“Joe Biden was prepared to accept CPD’s proposal for a virtual City Council, 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,” Biden’s campaign. said in a statement“As a result, Joe Biden will find an appropriate place to answer voter questions directly on October 15, as he has done on several occasions in recent weeks.”
Biden’s campaign expressed the hope that the commission will move the city hall to October 22 so that President Donald Trump “cannot evade accountability.”
“Voters should have the opportunity to ask questions of both candidates, directly. All presidential candidates since 1992 have participated in such an event, and it would be a shame if Donald Trump were the first to refuse,” the statement added.
The Committee on Presidential Debates had announced early Thursday that the next debate would be virtual “to protect the health and safety of all those involved.” Trump, who is still being treated for COVID-19, backed down.
“I’m not going to waste my time in a virtual debate. That’s not what the debate is about,” Trump said in an interview with Fox Business Network Thursday morning. “You sit behind a computer and have a debate, it’s ridiculous.”
AAaron Rupar (atrupar) October 8, 2020
The Trump campaign said the president would organize a rally.
The president has followed Biden by significant margins in national polls and in recent polls in battle states. The decision to opt out of a virtual debate denies Trump’s exposure to millions of voters with Election Day a few weeks away.
After Biden’s announcement on Thursday, the president’s campaign also called for the debate to be moved to October 22 and for the third debate, originally scheduled for October 22, to be delayed for a week, to October 29.
In a declarationTrump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien baselessly accused the commission of trying to give Biden an advantage through virtual debate.
“As President Trump said, a virtual debate is not a start and it would clearly be a gift for Biden,” Stepien said.
Polls found that Biden scored much higher than Trump for his performance in the first debate on September 29, two days before the president was diagnosed with COVID-19.
Later on Thursday, the Biden campaign rejected the Trump campaign’s suggestion to reschedule both debates.
“Trump’s erratic behavior does not allow him to rewrite the calendar and pick new dates of his choice,” said Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager. said in a statement.
The swing of the campaigns calls into question the next two debates and time is running out before the elections.
This article has been updated.
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