In case you were wondering if you’d be tuning in for a live or virtual Presidential debate next Thursday, the answer is: apparently neither. According to CNN, the Commission for Presidential Debates has called the second debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, officially canceling it on Friday evening.
Following Trump’s diagnosis last week with COVID-19, the Commission had attempted to swap out a live debate for a virtual one. However, Trump has staunchly refused to take part in a virtual debate, insisting the Commission instead move the second debate, which had been scheduled for October 15, to October 22, and shift the final debate from October 22 to October 29.
The Biden campaign rejected the proposed move, however, with campaign spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield saying in a statement, “Donald Trump doesn’t make the debate schedule; the debate commission does.†In the end, the Commission decided to cancel the event entirely, making the pair’s October 22 debate in Nashville their second debate, and likely quashing any chance that the pair will take the debate stage for a third time before November 3.
Meanwhile, Biden will be holding a town hall event in Philadelphia on October 15, and Trump plans to hold a outdoor speech at the White House Saturday, followed by a live campaign rally in Florida Monday night. In the meantime, looks like that one remaining undecided voter will have to find out more about the candidates via the five thousand other ways you can access information in 2020.