Second Presidential Debate On Ice As Candidates Opt for Separate Events
WASHINGTON – It appears the final two scheduled presidential debates of the 2020 election cycle are not going to happen.
After a morning of fast-moving events, ABC News has announced that Democratic nominee Joe Biden will take part in a town hall forum hosted by the network on the night that was supposed to be the second presidential debate.
The Oct. 15 event, announced via Twitter, will be moderated by ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos.
Earlier, President Donald Trump had balked at the decision by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates to make the second debate a virtual event due to his being infected with the coronavirus.
Appearing on Fox News Business Thursday morning, minutes after the commission’s decision was announced, Trump said the decision to forgo a live debate at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami was unacceptable.
He went on to accuse the commission of trying to “protect” former Vice President Biden.
The commission’s plan was to have the town hall-style debate take place virtually, with Biden and Trump participating from separate locations, and moderator Steve Scully and voters participating in Florida.
The decision to alter the debate came after health experts questioned the wisdom of the president participating in a live debate while he is still recovering from the virus.
After the president made his feelings about the change known, the Trump campaign also objected to the plan, saying it had not been consulted beforehand.
It said it would hold a campaign rally on Oct. 15, and asked the commission to delay the two remaining debates until later in the month, a suggestion that was greeted coolly by the Biden camp, which said the commission, not the Trump campaign, should set the schedule for any future debates.
Meanwhile Nielsen ratings announced Thursday the vice presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris Wednesday night was a much bigger audience draw than the VP debate in 2016.
According to its preliminary analysis of the ratings, Nielsen said more than 50 million people watched Wednesday’s VP debate across the seven biggest channels on television.
About 35 million people watched the 2016 debate between Pence and Tim Kaine on the same seven channels.
In The News
Health
Voting
2020 Elections
WASHINGTON - Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, of New York, won a close race to lead the House Democrats' campaign arm during the 117th Congress, narrowly defeating Rep. Tony Cárdenas, of California, 119-107 in a secret ballot. The outcome of the vote, which was conducted remotely during... Read More
WILMINGTON, Del. — Vice President-elect Kamala Harris named three individuals who'll be part of her senior staff in the White House, including veteran Democratic strategist Tina Flournoy, as her chief of staff. Flournoy's appointment as Harris' top staffer adds to a team of advisers led by... Read More
WASHINGTON - Thousands of federal employees can proceed with a class act in which they claim they were forced to work without pay during the 35-day partial government shutdown that extended from late 2018 to early 2019. “The claims brought by plaintiffs in this case are... Read More
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden is preparing to announce several of his administration's health leaders as soon as next week as he considers two governors and a former surgeon general to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, according to people familiar with the matter. The candidates to lead... Read More
WASHINGTON — The House Oversight Committee will subpoena Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross unless the Commerce Department hands over internal documents detailing delays and issues with data related to the 2020 census, the committee chairwoman warned in a letter Wednesday. In the letter, chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D- N.Y., accused the Commerce Department of blocking the committee from... Read More
WASHINGTON — Sen. Lamar Alexander's farewell speech to the chamber in which he's served for 18 years — and was a staffer decades earlier — was a reminder to colleagues of why the retiring Tennessee Republican was such a popular and effective public figure. Alexander's speech Wednesday, which attracted a crowd... Read More
