Va. senator not giving up on VSU debate; says 'incumbent' for Biden to come to campus

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said Thursday he has not given up on the possibility of still having a presidential debate at Virginia State University, but at the very least, he feels it is “incumbent” that President Joe Biden come to the Ettrick campus prior to the election.

In a session with Virginia journalists, Warner said he and his Democratic colleagues would push for the second of the projected televised debates between Biden and former president Donald Trump to be held at VSU.

“They’ve obviously made the decision to do the first one at a studio in Atlanta,” he said. “But I still think the second debate we’re going to still push it for VSU. And if for some reason that doesn’t happen, I absolutely believe that it would be incumbent for President Biden to show up at VSU to make his case on why he wants to be re-elected.”

On Wednesday, Biden’s campaign announced he rejected the Commission on Presidential Debates’ schedule of three events. Instead, the campaign suggested – and Trump’s camp immediately accepted – that the two face off June 27 at CNN’s studios in Atlanta, and again on Sept. 10 at a currently undetermined location to be broadcast on ABC.

Related: Virginia State University left out in the cold after candidates determine debate schedule

The move puts the three commission-organized debates – Sept. 16 at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas; Oct. 1 at VSU’s Multipurpose Center; and Oct. 9 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City – in jeopardy. VSU spent months pushing to become the first Historically Black College or University [HBCU] to host a presidential faceoff prior to the Nov. 20 announcement it had succeeded.

“And I can’t think of a better one than Virginia State,” Warner said, responding to questions from The Progress-Index.

Warner said he was “totally surprised” by Biden’s decision.

On Thursday and in previous social-media posts, Warner acknowledged the prep work VSU put in to bring the debate and then its work to get the campus ready for the national spotight. That said, he said he feels Biden committing to a pre-election appearance in Ettrick would ensure those efforts did not go in vain.

“VSU has spent literally months and months and months, and I was proud to support that effort,” Warner said. “And I haven’t given up on the second debate. But I absolutely agree that if that second debate takes place in a studio as well, then the president needs to be at VSU during the next, whatever, 170 days.”

VSU still is promoting the Oct. 1 debate on its website. A spokesperson said Wednesday that the university was still working with the debate commission to make something happen.

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Warner hopes VSU still in play for second presidential debate