WASHINGTON: After Wednesday night’s debate between U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, it remains unknown whether there will be any more such contests in the lead up to next month’s presidential elections.
Indeed, Trump’s recent hospitalization due to COVID-19 has cast doubt over whether there will be any further debates. Trump said Thursday he would not do an online debate against Biden, after the next scheduled contest was moved to a virtual format in a bid to safeguard against the virus.
“I’m not going to waste my time doing a virtual debate,” Trump told Fox Business News, calling the virtual format a “joke” and a bid to “protect Biden.”
Initially scheduled for Oct. 15, the debate was supposed to take a town hall format. Under a virtual format, both candidates and the moderator would be in separate locations.
On his way out to campaign events on Thursday, Biden said he did not know what the president was planning, in terms of when or whether there would be another debate. “I don’t know what the president is going to do,” Biden said.
Biden’s campaign called for a third and final debate to be changed to a Town Hall format, in which ordinary Americans can ask questions of the candidate. –Agencies
