8th October, 2020
The Joe Biden presidential campaign has rejected a suggestion from US President Trump’s camp to postpone the next two presidential debates by a week.
The former vice president’s campaign rebuked Trump for trying to move the final two debates, currently slated for Oct. 15 and Oct. 22, to Oct. 22 and Oct. 29.
It said the president was shirking his chance to debate next week after he pulled out of the town hall-style debate once the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) said it would be held virtually.
“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.
“Trump chose today to pull out of the October 15th debate. Trump’s erratic behaviour does not allow him to rewrite the calendar, and pick new dates of his choosing,” said Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager.
“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.”
The statement marked the latest salvo in a whirlwind back-and-forth between the campaigns and the CPD over the timing and format of the next presidential debates.
The CPD announced Thursday morning that the Oct. 15 matchup, which is set to be in a town hall format, would be held virtually amid concerns over the coronavirus after Trump’s positive test result.
Trump fired back, saying he would not participate in such an event, and his campaign followed up by saying it would instead hold a rally.
The Biden campaign responded by saying the former vice president would “find an appropriate place to take questions from voters directly on October 15th”.
It asked the CPD to “move the Biden-Trump Town Hall to October 22nd, so that the President is not able to evade accountability.”