President Donald Trump said Thursday morning that he will skip the second 2020 presidential debate with former Vice President Joe Biden.
“I heard that the Commission a little while ago changed the debate style, and that’s not acceptable to us,” Trump told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo. “I’m not going to waste my time doing a virtual debate,” Trump said, calling an attempt “to protect Biden” and a “joke.”
“Donald Trump clearly does not want to face questions from the voters about his failures on COVID and the economy,” said deputy Biden campaign manager Kate Bedingfield.
“The second presidential debate will take the form of a town meeting, in which the candidates would participate from separate remote locations,” CPD said in a statement released Thursday morning. “The town meeting participants and the moderator, Steve Scully, Senior Executive Producer & Political Editor, C-SPAN Networks, will be located at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County in Miami, Florida.”
The Trump campaign had been suggesting the second debate be held outside because that would be safer. The debate commission is like “ummm let’s move this meeting to zoom.” Not really, but the debate will be virtual, with the candidates in remote locations. pic.twitter.com/cJUH8WrnOF
— Tamara Keith (@tamarakeithNPR) October 8, 2020
Co-chairman Frank Fahrenkopf said the commission would not host a solo debate with Biden if Trump doesn’t budge from his position.
“No, we wouldn’t have it,” he said. “You can’t do that under the federal election laws and FEC (Federal Election Commission) rules. You’ve got to balance. You couldn’t have one person going through the debate and the other one not. That wouldn’t be a debate under the law.”
“President Trump won the first debate despite a terrible and biased moderator in Chris Wallace, and everybody knows it,” said Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien in a statement announcing the president’s refusal to debate virtually. “For the swamp creatures at the Presidential Debate Commission to now rush to Joe Biden’s defense by unilaterally canceling an in-person debate is pathetic.”
