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Donald Trump has ruined plans for his second presidential debate with Democratic challenger Joe Biden after saying he will not participate in a virtual event.
The president’s statement came less than an hour after organizers announced that the debate would take place virtually.
The Commission on Presidential Debates said the decision was made to “protect the health and safety of all those involved,” with the positive of the president coronavirus the test came just days after the first debate last week.
The commission said both candidates would appear in the second television debate, scheduled for next Thursday, from separate locations.
But, in an interview shortly after the announcement was made, Trump said, “I’m not going to do a virtual debate.”
He told Fox News that the arrangement “is not acceptable to us.”
Biden’s camp had said their man would participate, and the former vice president said he hopes “to speak directly to the American people and compare his plan to unite the country and rebuild better with the failed leadership of Donald Trump.”
Trump returned to the Oval Office at the White House on Wednesday, even though he is still recovering from COVID-19.
His doctors said the president had had no symptoms of coronavirus for the past 24 hours.
In a video posted to his Twitter account later Wednesday, Trump promised that the treatment he received while in a military hospital would be offered to Americans for free.
