United States President Donald Trump on Thursday said he will not participate in a virtual debate for the presidential elections with his Democratic Party opponent Joe Biden. Trump made the announcement in an interview with Fox Business.
“I’m not gonna waste my time on a virtual debate,” Trump said. “You sit behind a computer and you do the debate, it is ridiculous, and then they cut you off anytime they want.”
The Commission on Presidential Debates announced earlier on Thursday that the second debate, scheduled for October 15, will be held virtually, CNN reported. The announcement was made days after Trump tested positive for the coronavirus.
“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 statement. “The town meeting participants and the moderator, Steve Scully, Senior Executive Producer & Political Editor, C-SPAN Networks, will be located at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County in Miami, Florida. The White House Pool will provide coverage of the second presidential debate.”
On October 6, Trump, in a tweet, downplayed the seriousness of the coronavirus, comparing it with the flu. Twitter put a warning on the tweet, saying it included potentially misleading information.
The presidential elections will be held on November 3, and results will come in the same day. The United States has for months been and remains the country worst-hit by the coronavirus, with over 75 lakh cases and more than 2 lakh deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
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