On Friday, the Commission on Presidential Debates canceled the second debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden after Trump refused to do an virtual discussion despite his concerns over his coronavirus diagnosis, according to organizers.
The next debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump has been canceled, a source tells CNN, after the President declined to do a virtual debate despite concerns over his Covid-19 diagnosis https://t.co/xq3IkW8hgX
— CNN (@CNN) October 10, 2020
The withdrawal of the debate is the conclusion of a furious forty-eight-hour back-and-forth between the commission and both political campaigns. Besides, it means that the third debate on 22nd October in Nashville will possibly be the final meeting between two contestants. The Wall Street Journal was initially to report on the decision of the commission.
The commission states that it is now clear that there will be no debate on 15th October, and the CPD will shift its attention towards preparations for the concluding debate scheduled for 22nd October. On Thursday, the commission, with the support of their health advisers, announced that – because the United States President tested positive for the COVID-19. The final debate scheduled for Miami would hold virtually, with the two contestants appearing from remote locations.
Trump raised his concerns over virtual debate affecting future election debates
Trump instantly rejected that plan and said that he wouldn’t highlight and setting off a number of events that put the future of upcoming general election debates into question. In response to the cancellation of Trump, a spokeswoman of Biden said that they would agree to a virtual format for the upcoming contest of Thursday, but because Trump apparently bailed, they would book another format for the ex-vice president to take questions.
Andrew Bates, a spokesperson of Biden campaign, stated on Friday that former Vice President Joe Biden looks forward to making his case to U.S. nationals about how to beat this coronavirus pandemic, restore the country’s leadership and its alliances across the world and also bring the American people together. Canceling of only debate from Trump is shameful because it is the platform in which the voters have the opportunity to ask the questions, but it is not surprising.
In response to the candidate supporting the debate, the Trump campaign released three statements on Thursday that criticized the commission, pushed the former vice president’s campaign to agree to an in-person election debate, and said that they might agree to push the 15th October debate back a week to 22nd October and then shift the third debate to 29th October, just a few days before the 3rd November General Election.
Trump’s physician cleared him for Traveling
However, the campaign of Biden rejected their suggestion. Moreover, Kate Bedingfield, the spokeswoman of the campaign, says that Trump does not make the debate schedule; the debate commission does. Whereas the Trump campaign argued that because the physician of the President, Dr. Sean Conley, cleared him for travel, the Commission on Presidential debate should move the debate to an in-person setting.
According to a source familiar with the plans, Trump is now in discussions to do a town hall with NBC in the position of the debate on Thursday. However, the person signaled that things didn’t been finalized yet. If that event comes to finalization, both presidential candidates will participate in town halls in separate events instead of the debate that scheduled to a town hall-style format.
Tim Murtaugh, the spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, stated on Friday that at present, no medical reason seemed to stop the 15th October debate in Miami from happening as scheduled since Trump would healthy and ready to debate. Trump campaign proposed using the 22nd and 29th of October to hold the final two debates. The biased commission should stop protecting Biden and prevent voters from hearing from the two presidential candidates.
Tim added that Trump would be willing to debate Joe Biden without the involvement of the commission. The cancellation of the debate is a political loss for Donald Trump, who is below in all national ballots and either behind or tie with Biden in main swing states. The loss of a debate withdraws Trump of a platform that he needs at a time when his presidential campaign is trailing. More than seventy-three million people watched the first debate between the president and the former vice president.
Commission head Frank Fahrenkopf views about the event
Frank Fahrenkopf, the head of the commission, told CNN on Thursday that the president’s campaign’s push to hold an in-person debate following week in Miami after Trump had already backed out of the race did little to change the Commission on the belief of the Presidential Debate that any debate next week must be virtual.
Fahrenkopf said that the Cleveland Clinic would need to clear it. However, he added that it didn’t get the Biden campaign back involved, somewhat the commission’s head believed that it unlikely to happen after talks with topmost Biden aides. Negotiations between the commission and the campaigns on Friday did nothing to change the probability of a Miami debate being low.
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