2020
DEBATES
‘I’m not going to waste my time’: Trump says he
won’t do virtual debate against Biden
The Commission on Presidential Debates announced the
upcoming forum will feature the two candidates participating “from separate
remote locations.”
President
Donald Trump and former Vice President Democratic Joe Biden participate in the
first presidential debate.
By QUINT
FORGEY
10/08/2020
07:34 AM EDT
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/08/trump-biden-virtual-second-debate-427810
President
Donald Trump said Thursday that he would not participate in the second
televised debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden next week after the
nonpartisan commission responsible for producing the forums announced that it
will be conducted virtually.
“I’m not
going to waste my time on virtual debate. That’s not what debating is all
about,” Trump said in an interview on Fox Business. “You sit behind a computer
and do a debate. It’s ridiculous, and then they cut you off whenever they
want.”
The remarks
from Trump came shortly after the Commission on Presidential Debates revealed
Thursday morning that the town hall-style event on Oct. 15 would feature the
two candidates participating “from separate remote locations.”
The town
hall participants and moderator Steve Scully of C-SPAN will be located as
planned at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, the
commission said.
The shift
to a virtual format comes as Trump continues treatment for Covid-19 at the
White House, after being discharged from Walter Reed National Military Medical
Center on Monday evening.
Trump
campaign manager Bill Stepien reaffirmed the president’s position in a
statement Thursday, saying Trump will “pass on this sad excuse to bail out Joe
Biden and do a rally instead.”
Stepien
claimed that Trump “will have posted multiple negative tests prior to the
debate,” and insisted that the “safety of all involved can easily be achieved
without canceling a chance for voters to see both candidates go head to head.”
In her own
statement, Biden deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield suggested the former
vice president would take part in the virtual event, saying that Biden “looks
forward to speaking directly to the American people.”
Trump had
previously signaled that he intended to take part in the debate despite his
diagnosis, tweeting Tuesday that he was “looking forward” to the forum on Oct.
15 and that it “will be great!”
Trump’s top
aides and advisers also expressed hope in recent days that the president would
be able to attend.
Biden
indicated Monday that he would be willing to participate in the debate “if
scientists say that it’s safe,” but advised that “we should be very cautious”
in organizing the event.
On Tuesday,
however, Biden concluded that “we shouldn’t have a debate” if Trump remains
infected with the coronavirus.
The
commission had already been exploring alternative formats for next week’s
debate in the aftermath of the first clash between Trump and Biden — which saw
the president repeatedly interrupt his opponent and moderator Chris Wallace of
Fox News.
The commission
announced last week that the first debate demonstrated the need for “additional
structure” in the format of the remaining forums to “ensure a more orderly
discussion.”
It is not
immediately clear what effects the virtual nature of the debate will have on
the 90-minutes of primetime programming. The format change could facilitate the
implementation of additional measures to enforce rules governing debate
speaking time that some Democrats and media commentators have demanded over the
past week.
Further
complicating matters is the still uncertain nature of Trump’s health.
Sean
Conley, the president’s personal physician, reported in a memo Wednesday that
Trump has “been fever-free for more than 4 days, symptom-free for over 24
hours, and has not needed nor received any supplemental oxygen since initial
hospitalization.”
But the
White House has refused to provide a definitive timeline of the president’s
Covid-19 tests in the days leading up to his diagnosis, and the current
condition of his lungs has not been disclosed.
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