2020 White House race: Donald Trump refuses to do ‘virtual’ second debate

Plans for two more Trump/Biden debates are in doubt after the president refused to participate in a virtual event.

Joe Biden and US President Donald Trump during the first debate in September. Picture: AFP

Plans for President Trump and Joe Biden to meet for two more debates this month were in question after the president refused to participate in a virtual debate next week, leading the Democratic nominee’s campaign to schedule a town hall in Philadelphia for the same day.

The debate schedule was up in the air after the Commission on Presidential Debates said it was changing the format of a planned October 15 debate so that the two candidates would participate from remote locations. The president and a growing number of people in the White House recently tested positive for the coronavirus.

The first presidential debate and yesterday’s vice-presidential event were held in person but included social distancing measures crafted in consultation with the Cleveland Clinic.

“I’m not going to waste my time on a virtual debate,” Mr Trump said on Fox Business.

Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien, who also tested positive for coronavirus in recent days, said the decision to make the October 15 debate, which was planned as an in-person town hall, a virtual event was “pathetic.” He said that Mr Trump wouldn’t be positive for the coronavirus by then and that the campaign would hold a rally instead.

The Trump campaign is looking to return Mr Trump to the trail early next week, although no plans have been finalised as the president remains confined to the White House, campaign aides said.

Mr Stepien issued another statement later asking for the town-hall debate to be pushed back a week and for a third presidential debate to be scheduled on October 29.

Mr Biden’s campaign initially said he would participate in the virtual debate. After Mr Trump said he wouldn’t attend, ABC News announced that Mr Biden would participate in an October 15 town hall in Philadelphia moderated by George Stephanopoulos.

“As we said — one way or another, Joe Biden is taking questions from voters on October 15th!” Biden Deputy Campaign Manager Kate Bedingfield said on Twitter after the town hall was announced.

The Biden campaign also rejected the Trump team’s request for another debate at the end of the month. In a statement, Ms Bedingfield said that Mr Trump can’t “pick new dates of his choosing” and that the final debate should be held October 22.

Frank Fahrenkopf, head of the debate commission, declined to comment.

Mr Trump, who is trailing in national polls, has been looking to get back in front of voters.

Although he has been sidelined from the campaign trail due to his illness, he had said he would participate in the town-hall-style debate in Miami next week. He has repeatedly called for more debates, including as recently as last week, as he aims to close the gap with Mr Biden.

Some campaign aides had said there was a chance Mr Trump could change his mind about participating in a virtual debate. Other advisers around Mr Trump questioned the wisdom of refusing to participate in a debate just weeks away from the election.

Mr Trump is trailing Mr Biden in national polls, and a debate would offer both candidates the opportunity to make their case directly to the voters. More than 70 million Americans watched the first debate, while Mr Trump’s rallies are rarely carried live on cable networks.

TO MY FAVORITE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD! pic.twitter.com/38DbQtUxEu

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2020

Last week’s debate, in which Mr Trump repeatedly interrupted Mr Biden and the moderator and both candidates lobbed insults, appeared to benefit Mr Biden, whose lead grew in a host of national and battleground state polls taken after the debate. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released Sunday found Mr Biden ahead of the president by 14 percentage points nationally, 53%-39%. That was Mr Trump’s weakest support of the year, as the president’s backing from older and white working-class voters softened. A quarter of voters in that poll said the debate made a difference in their vote, with a bigger share saying it made them more likely to support Mr. Biden.

The White House has faced questions about its transparency around coronavirus tests. Mr. Trump tested positive on Oct. 1. He appeared on Fox News that night and didn’t reveal the initial result. He later tweeted he had tested positive after an additional positive coronavirus test.

Several of Mr Trump’s family members removed their masks during the first presidential debate, despite a requirement that attendees keep their masks on. A doctor appeared to approach guests of the Trump family to remind them of the guidelines and offer them masks if they didn’t have them but they declined the offer.

The second debate was planned as a town-hall-style event. The debate commission said that the new format would have both candidates appearing virtually, with the debate moderator C-Span Network’s Steve Scully and town hall participants located in Miami, Fla.

This wouldn’t be the first time Mr. Trump skipped a debate. During the 2016 primary, the then-candidate held a campaign event instead of attending a Republican debate because of a dispute with the host, Fox News. During the 2016 general election, Mr Trump criticised the debate commission, calling the bipartisan panel biased because one of its co-chairs had worked in the Clinton administration.

This week’s vice-presidential debate took place in person with added protections from the week before, despite objections from Mr Trump’s campaign. Both Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic vice-presidential nominee Senator Kamala Harris have so far tested negative for the virus.

It was the first debate since the president tested positive for the coronavirus, which political strategists said would be remembered more for the questions that went unanswered during their 90 minutes on stage in Salt Lake City, Utah, rather than any standout lines or remarkable ripostes from either candidate.

Neither candidate would engage when asked if they had discussed with their running mates
— both men in their 70s — a plan in case the president was unable to carry out his responsibilities. Mr Pence ducked a question about how the Trump administration would ensure insurance coverage for people with pre-existing conditions if the Supreme Court strikes down the Affordable Care Act, and Ms Harris wouldn’t say whether the Democratic ticket intends to add seats to the court if they win.

Mr Pence, Ms Harris and Mr Biden are set to make swings through the West today. The president will remain in Washington as he recovers from Covid-19.

Political analysts said the evening would probably do little to change the state of the race, which in recent days has centered on the administration’s handling of the pandemic. The most memorable moment, several pundits said, was when a fly landed on Mr Pence’s head and remained stuck in place for more than two minutes.

“This debate did nothing to alter the trajectory of the race; it was more of a talking-point exchange than a debate,” said David Wasserman, a political analyst at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

Mr Wasserman said the status quo benefits Mr Biden and Ms Harris, who are leading national and battleground state polls by wide margins.

The Wall Street Journal