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WASHINGTON (AFP, BLOOMBERG) – The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) said on Friday (October 9) that it has canceled next week’s confrontation between Donald Trump and his challenger Joe Biden, after the President of the United States said that I would not participate in a virtual format. .
Canceling the forum is a formality, given that both Biden and Trump have already said they would not attend and made alternative plans.
“Each (candidate) has now announced alternative plans for that date,” the commission said in a statement. “Now it is clear that there will be no debate on October 15.”
The final debate will be on October 22 in Nashville, Tennessee.
“Subject to medical safety considerations and in accordance with all required testing, masking, social distancing and other protocols, the discussion will take place at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.”
The October 15 debate was to be moderated in Miami by Steve Scully of C-SPAN. The CPD announced Thursday that it would be done remotely, but the Trump campaign rejected that idea, demanding that it be done in person.
“No, I am not going to waste my time in a virtual debate,” Trump said in a telephone interview with Fox Business on Thursday. “That’s not what the debate is about.”
Meanwhile, Trump plans to hold his first live event at the White House on Saturday since he was diagnosed with Covid-19.
All attendees will be asked to wear the masks that they must bring and will be required to show up to a Covid-19 screening on Saturday morning. This will consist of a temperature check and a short questionnaire, according to a source familiar with the preparations.
Biden’s spokesman, Andrew Bates, said it was “embarrassing” for Trump to withdraw from the only city-hall-style debate of the three planned meetings.
“Everybody knows that Donald Trump likes to intimidate journalists, but he obviously doesn’t have the guts to answer for his record to voters at the same time as Vice President Biden,” he said.
Both candidates have made other plans for October 15. Biden will participate in a Philadelphia town hall hosted by ABC News and moderated by George Stephanopoulos. Trump plans to participate in a town hall hosted by NBC News, ABC reported.
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