Minutes after the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announced on Thursday morning that next week’s second presidential debate would be held virtually, Trump said he would not participate.
“I’m not going to waste my time on a virtual debate,” he told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo in an interview on Thursday morning. He said a virtual debate was “not acceptable.”
Later on Thursday, Democratic challenger Joe Biden’s campaign criticized Trump for pulling out and announced plans to hold its own town hall on Oct. 15, when the debate had been scheduled. “Donald Trump clearly does not want to face questions from the voters about his failures on COVID and the economy,” Kate Bedingfield, the deputy campaign manager for the Biden campaign, said in a statement.