The second presidential debate appears to be called off — at least for now. However, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign said he will still take voters’ questions the night that event was originally slated to take place.
ABC News announced in a tweet on Thursday afternoon that it would host a town hall event with Biden,” [ABC News] will host a town hall with [Joe Biden] moderated by ]George Stephanopolous] on October 15th.”
“The primetime event will take place in Philadelphia where the former vice president will answer questions from voters,” the network added.
JUST IN: @ABC News will host a town hall with @JoeBiden moderated by @GStephanopoulos on October 15th. The primetime event will take place in Philadelphia where the former vice president will answer questions from voters. pic.twitter.com/7IPzdqK9Sx
— ABC News (@ABC) October 8, 2020
Earlier in the day, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) announced that it decided to change the Oct. 15 debate from a physical town hall event to a virtual format, as IJR reported.
“The second presidential debate will take the form of a town meeting, in which the candidates would participate from separate remote locations,” the commission said in a press release.
It added that the move was designed to “protect the health and safety of all involved.”
But President Donald Trump quickly said he would not participate in a virtual debate, “The commission changed the debate style, and that’s not acceptable to us. I beat [Biden] easily in the first debate.”
“I’m not going to waste my time on a virtual debate,” he added.
Watch the video below:
"I'm not going to waste my time on a virtual debate" — Trump, on with Maria Bartiromo, begins his first post-coronavirus interview by saying he's pulling out of the second debate. (He sounds a little hoarse.) pic.twitter.com/R43JSszfll
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 8, 2020
After Trump said he would not participate in a virtual debate, the Biden campaign said the Democratic nominee would hold an event to take questions from voters.
Additionally, the campaign said in a statement, “We hope the Debate Commission will move the Biden-Trump Town Hall to October 22nd, so that the President is not able to evade accountability.”
“The voters should have a chance to ask questions of both candidates, directly. Every Presidential candidate since 1992 has participated in such an event, and it would be a shame if Donald Trump was the first to refuse,” the statement added.
.@KBeds: “Given the President's refusal to participate on October 15th, we hope the Debate Commission will move the Biden-Trump Town Hall to October 22nd, so that the President is not able to evade accountability” pic.twitter.com/z9PmN9njyd
— Hanna Trudo (@HCTrudo) October 8, 2020
Trump’s re-election campaign also voiced support for pushing the debate back a week. However, the Trump campaign also called for the third debate to also be pushed back a week to Oct. 29.
But, Biden’s campaign rejected that idea and said there should not be a debate after Oct. 22.
“Donald Trump doesn’t make the debate schedule; the Debate Commission does. We accepted the three dates — Sept. 29, Oct. 15, and Oct. 22 — in June,” the Biden campaign said in a separate statement.
The statement continued, “Trump’s erratic behavior does not allow him to rewrite the calendar, and pick new dates of his choosing. We look forward to participating in the final debate, scheduled for October 22, which already is tied for the latest debate date in 40 years. Donald Trump can show up, or he can decline again. That’s his choice.”