Second Presidential Debate Will Be Held in Virtual Format
The second presidential debate between incumbent President Donald Trump (R) and former Vice President Joe Biden (D) will occur next week, with a twist.
The debate will now be held in a virtual format in which both Trump and Biden will be in separate locations.
The Commission for Presidential Debates made the announcement Thursday morning (October 8th), less than a day after the vice presidential debate.
The commission said Trump and Biden will participate in next week's town hall debate "from separate remote locations." Earlier in the week, Biden threatened to pull out from the October 15th debate in Miami, Florida due to President Trump's diagnosis of the novel coronavirus.
CNBC also noted that the moderator for the second presidential debate, C-SPAN’s Steve Scully, will remain unchanged.
Trump, after the commission made its announcement, told Fox Business during a phone interview that he wouldn't be participating in the virtual debate.
"No, I’m not going to waste my time on a virtual debate," Trump said in the interview. "The commission changed the debate style and that's not acceptable to us. I beat him in the first debate, I beat him easily."
The third and final presidential debate for the 2020 election will be held Thursday, October 22nd, 2020 at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. As of now, that debate is still expected to have both candidates participate appear in-person.
Photos from the first 2020 Presidential Debate:
First 2020 Presidential Debate