The Next Presidential Debate Will Be Virtual—but Trump Doesn't Want to Do It
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The November election is quickly approaching. As people continue to register to vote and prepare to fill out their ballots, three presidential debates between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden are set to take place over the next few weeks.
Below, we break down all the information you need to watch the debates, including the dates, times, and moderators.
The next debate will be virtual, following Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis.
The Commission on Presidential Debates announced that the second presidential debate, on October 15, will take place in the form of a town meeting with both candidates participating from separate remote locations.
Trump and First Lady Melania Trump both tested positive for the coronavirus last week following the diagnosis of Hope Hicks, a senior aide to the president. Since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise that individuals exposed to COVID-19 quarantine for at least 14 days, questions have been raised about how the rest of the presidential debates would and should go on. Experts say that the president could still be contagious.
As for Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, they both tested negative on October 2. The Democratic nominee again tested negative on October 6.
Trump, however, is refusing to debate virtually. "I'm not going to do a virtual debate," he told Fox Business. "I'm not going to waste my time on a virtual debate. That's not what debating is all about."
BREAKING: CPD ANNOUNCES SECOND PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE WILL BE VIRTUAL pic.twitter.com/irWLpdCVOF
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) October 8, 2020
When are the debates?
There will be three debates before the general election, as confirmed by the Commission on Presidential Debates. Each debate will start at 9 p.m. ET and run for 90 minutes with no commercial breaks.
Tuesday, September 29, at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, Ohio)
Thursday, October 15, at the Adrienne Arsht Center (Miami, Florida)
Thursday, October 22, at Belmont University (Nashville, Tennessee)
The only vice presidential debate between Vice President Mike Pence and California senator Kamala Harris took place on Wednesday, October 7, at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
Who is moderating?
The New York Times reported the moderators for each debate: Chris Wallace, anchor of Fox News Sunday, will host the first debate; Steve Scully, the senior executive producer of C-SPAN, will host the second; and Kristen Welker, an NBC White House correspondent, will host the third.
The vice presidential debate was moderated by USA Today's Susan Page.
Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said in a statement, per the Times, "These are not the moderators we would have recommended if the campaign had been allowed to have any input. Some can be identified as clear opponents of President Trump, meaning Joe Biden will actually have a teammate on stage most of the time to help him excuse the radical, leftist agenda he is carrying."
Meanwhile, Andrew Bates, a spokesman for the Biden campaign, said in a statement, per BBC, "As Joe Biden has said for months—without farcical antics—he looks forward to participating in the debates set by the commission, regardless of who the independently chosen moderators are."
According to the Commission's website, moderators are selected based on three criteria: familiarity with the candidates and major issues within their campaigns, extensive experience in live broadcast news, and "an understanding that the debate should focus maximum time and attention on the candidates and their views."
How can I watch?
The debates will be broadcast on major networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS, Telemundo, Univision, CNN, MSNBC, and C-SPAN.
If you don't have TV access, you can also watch livestreams via the above networks' YouTube channels. Further streaming devices include Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, Xbox One, and more.
Remember to tune in by 9 p.m. ET to catch the full debate.
What will they talk about?
For the second debate, moderator Steve Scully and a number of undecided voters will ask the candidates questions in the virtual town hall setting. They will be based at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida, while the candidates will participate from remote locations.
For the first debate, Chris Wallace chose to focus on the Trump and Biden records, the Supreme Court, COVID-19, the economy, race and violence in our cities, and the integrity of the election.
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