Virtual Presidential Debate Or No Debate At All?
Following the President's COVID-19 diagnosis, many questions have been raised about the upcoming presidential debates and the potential health risks of having an in-person debate. The debate was scheduled to occur on October 15th and take the format of a town hall-style meeting; however, plans have now changed. After the diagnosis, the plan was that the debate would happen virtually. President Trump declined to participate, and said on Fox News and quoted by CBS that he was not going to “waste [his] time on a virtual debate. That’s not what debating is all about.” The Trump campaign released another statement saying that because the debate would be well past ten days after Mr. Trump had been diagnosed with COVID-19, he would be healthy and there would be no medical reasoning behind holding a virtual debate rather than an in-person one. The commission said that they would not change their decision about the virtual format, citing an abundance of caution for COVID-19 protocol. Mr. Trump’s objections to the virtual format caused him to withdraw from the debate, stating that he would happily debate Mr. Biden in person. According to the Wall Street Journal, news networks such as NBC News and Fox News have reached out to both teams to hold virtual town halls, but it is unclear whether the Trump campaign has scheduled one of the said town halls yet.
While Mr. Biden originally agreed to the terms of the virtual debate laid forth by the commission, he changed his agreement after Mr. Trump announced that he would not participate in a virtual debate. Mr. Biden has now scheduled a town hall with ABC News that night. He will take questions directly from voters, and the campaign expressed their hopes that the October 22nd debate will be able to happen.
After both of the campaigns released their statements, the virtual debate was officially canceled. Some may have had concerns about the virtual debate format, and whether or not it is a feasible method of holding a presidential debate. However, it would not have been the first virtual debate. In 1960, John Kennedy and Richard Nixon participated in a virtual debate: Kennedy was in New York, and Nixon was in Los Angeles. They appeared in separate boxes on the TV screen and proceeded to hold a debate moderated by ABC anchor Bill Shadel. Although we will not see a virtual debate on October 15th, the October 22nd debate is currently undecided.
By: Adele Auchincloss
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