MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Trump/Biden October 15 debate cancelled: campaigns have announced alternate plans for that date

Trump pulled out of the Oct 15 debate on Thursday after it was changed to a virtual event to guard against the spread of COVID-19.

The Oct 15 presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden will not proceed, the Commission on Presidential Debates said in a statement on Friday, adding that both campaigns had announced “alternate plans for that date.”

“It is now apparent there will be no debate on Oct 15, and the CPD will turn its attention to preparations for the final presidential debate scheduled for Oct 22,” the commission said in an emailed statement.
Trump pulled out of the Oct 15 debate on Thursday after it was changed to a virtual event to guard against the spread of COVID-19.
He was hospitalized for three days after disclosing last Friday he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, blasted the format change announced by the nonpartisan commission in charge of the debates and expressed concern his microphone could be cut off.

“I'm not going to waste my time on a virtual debate. That's not what debating is all about,” Trump said in a nearly hour-long phone interview with Fox Business. “You sit behind a computer and do a debate - it's ridiculous, and then they cut you off whenever they want.”

In lieu of the Oct 15 debate, Biden's campaign quickly arranged a town hall-style event in Philadelphia that night to be hosted by ABC News.