The Trump campaign suggested new dates as Joe Biden planned a televised town hall’ American voters are the losers, ‘a member of the debate committee said
Next week’s presidential debate was on the verge of being canceled after President Trump said on Thursday he would refuse to participate in a virtual confrontation and Joseph R Biden Jr pledged to host a televised meeting with voters the same evening
Mr Trump has rejected plans by the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has raised concerns about the coronavirus, aimed at candidates facing each other from different locations next Thursday rather than on stage in Miami
In response, the collaborators of M Biden said the Democratic presidential candidate « would find a suitable place to directly answer voters’ questions » that evening – and the campaign was not shy about following up A short series of conversations between ABC News and the campaign Biden led the network to advertise a city hall in Philadelphia with M Biden next Thursday, hosted by presenter George Stephanopoulos
M’s decision Biden’s team effectively ended the possibility of the second official debate going as planned, and it appeared to lock M Trump in the position he took early Thursday to avoid next week’s virtual forum
Mr. Trump, whose recent coronavirus contraction was a significant impetus for the commission to change its plans, immediately dismissed the idea of a remote debate as « ridiculous » and accused the commission without evidence of seeking to protect his democratic opponent
« No, I’m not going to waste my time on a virtual debate, » M Trump told Fox Business presenter Maria Bartiromo, « This is not the point of the debate You sit behind a computer and debate – this is ridiculous »
His apparent withdrawal has led to a day-long back-and-forth between the Biden and Trump campaigns over when, where and under what conditions the two candidates could meet again before Election Day
Mr. Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien, perhaps feeling a political disadvantage in skipping the remaining debates, said the president would accept another match if he was delayed a week and held in person on October 22 – a gesture that could give M Trump has more time to recover from coronavirus Mr Stepien also offered additional debate on a new date, October 29
Kate Bedingfield, deputy campaign manager for Biden, swiftly rejected this proposal, “Donald Trump is not debate time; the debate committee does, « she said in a statement » Trump chose today to withdraw from the Oct 15 debate Trump’s erratic behavior does not allow him to rewrite the calendar and choose to new dates of his choice «
Frank J Fahrenkopf Jr, a co-chair of the debate committee, told CNN that the committee was hoping to move forward with the debate scheduled for October 22 in Nashville, and that the event could take place in person » based on the medical advice we get « But he said he had yet to hear from the Trump campaign about whether it would engage in the debate
The debate committee did not consult the Biden and Trump campaigns before announcing the virtual format early Thursday The decision came after members of the committee’s production team objected to the risks to the safety of organizing another event in person in a covered location, according to someone close to its deliberations
The setback may constitute the most significant test of the legitimacy of the debate committee since the group, a non-partisan body, was founded in 1987
No law obliges presidential candidates to participate in debates Traditions and norms govern practice, and like many political institutions in recent years, the commission’s board now faces its own trump stress test
Newton N Minow, 94, a member of the committee who has participated in every general election debate since 1960, said on Thursday that the day’s developments were « a great loss to the democratic process »
« American voters are the losers – deprived of the ability to see, hear and assess presidential candidates using current technology, » said Mr. Minow, who was appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission by President John F Kennedy in 1961, writes in an email
The directors of the debate committee include former senators, business luminaries and Rev Jean I Jenkins, the president of the University of Notre Dame, who tested positive for the coronavirus last week
The commission was already under pressure to change its security protocols after last week’s debate in Cleveland, where Mr. Trump’s family and aides refused to wear masks in the debate room, flouting regulations set by organizers.Biden aides had expressed concern over their candidate’s potential exposure to a president who could still be contagious
Mr Trump, in the Fox Business interview, said he learned of the switch to a virtual format on Thursday But there were indications that members of the presidential circle were aware of the commission’s thinking on Wednesday debate on a virtual debate
The chair has also repeatedly sought to undermine the integrity of the debate committee In the absence of evidence, he accused the scheduled moderator of the next debate, Steve Scully of C-SPAN, of being a » ever Trumper « He said that the moderator of the first debate, Chris Wallace of Fox News, » was a disaster « which favored Mr. Biden And he said the commission’s plan for a ranged game was to « try to protect Biden »
In 1960, the third debate between Kennedy and Richard M Nixon took place at a distance Kennedy debated from a television studio in New York; Nixon appeared from Los Angeles, with the men filmed on a pair of identical sets.The moderator of this debate, Bill Shadel of ABC News, led the proceedings from a third studio in Chicago
How to safely organize a pair of in-room and in-person debates between Mr. Biden and Mr Trump, who tested positive for coronavirus last week and spent three days at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, were the subject of intense conversations between members of the board of directors of the debate committee the last days
Aids to M Trump had privately discussed the notion of open-air debates, but people familiar with the committee’s deliberations said the Trump campaign never formally proposed the idea
The Biden campaign initially said it would welcome a virtual debate next Thursday, which was to follow a town hall-style format with questions from voters in Florida But Mr Stepien, the president’s campaign manager, launched a meteoric attack on the commission, calling its members « swamp monsters » and calling the move to a virtual debate « pathetic »
« The safety of everyone involved can easily be ensured without voters having the opportunity to see the two candidates face off, » said M Stepien said in a statement « We will pass on this sad excuse to bail out Joe Biden and do a rally instead » He also claimed that Mr. Trump « will have released several negative tests prior to the debate, » although White House officials have repeatedly declined to give details of Mr. Trump’s current state of health
Trump Debate
Global News – US – Campaigns eclipse debate plan after Trump rejects virtual clash
