President Donald Trump said he would not participate in the second presidential debate after the Commission on Presidential Debates announced the candidates would appear virtually from remote locations.
The event initially scheduled for October 15 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Fla. would have a town hall format.
The second presidential debate, initially scheduled for October 15 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami, FLa., was slated as a town-hall-style debate. Steve Scully, Senior Executive Producer and Political Editor with C-SPAN, is the moderator.
Trump announced Thursday that he tested positive for COVID-19; he spent three days at Walter Reed Medical Center and was released on Monday. He then said he planned to participate in next week’s debate. Patients with COVID-19 are thought to no longer be contagious ten days after their symptoms resolve.
Naval Cmdr. Sean Conley, DO, FACEP, Physician to the President, said in a memo released by the White House on Wednesday that Trump has been fever-free for more than four days and symptoms free for more than 24 hours.
“I am not going to do a virtual debate,” Trump said Thursday on Fox Business. “I am not going to waste my time on a virtual debate.”
Biden spokesperson Kate Bedingfield said the former Vice President was willing to accept the Commission’s proposal for a virtual town hall.
She said the president refused because he “clearly does not want to face questions from the voters about his failures on COVID and the economy.”
She said Biden planned to schedule a campaign town hall meeting and said the Commission should reschedule the town hall debate for October 22 so both candidates can participate.