The Commission on Presidential Debates announced Thursday that the second presidential debate, set for next week, will now take place virtually as President Donald Trump battles Covid-19.
The debate will still take place in the form of a town hall, but Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, will participate remotely. Moderator Steve Scully of C-SPAN will be located at the venue which was slated to host the debate, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami.
The president first showed symptoms for the virus last Thursday, according to the White House, which was 14 days prior to the debate scheduled for Oct. 15. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines say people should isolate for 10 days from the point of showing systems and 20 days in severe cases.
Earlier this week, Biden, who shared a debate stage with the president just a few days prior to the Trump’s positive diagnosis, signaled that if Trump was still contagious, the debate may not take place as planned.
“I don’t know what exactly the rules are gonna be and I’m not sure that what President Trump is all about now — I don’t know what his status is,” Biden told reporters. “I’m looking forward to being able to debate him, but I just hope all the protocols are followed which is necessary at the time.”
Earlier that day, Trump tweeted he was “looking forward” to the debate.
The president’s doctors have said he is recovering, though he was placed on a steroid therapy typically used in more severe Covid-19 cases.
So far, 23 people close to the White House and three Republican senators have tested positive for the virus in the days surrounding Trump first showing symptoms.
Biden has repeatedly tested negative since his encounter on the debate stage with Trump last Tuesday, his campaign has said. Meanwhile, in Wednesday’s vice presidential debate, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., was separated from Vice President Mike Pence by a plexiglass barrier.
Pence has on multiple occasions tested negative for the virus in recent days, his team has said.
The CPD was considering changes to the debate format as well as the rules after the first Trump-Biden match up descended into a chaotic shouting match with the candidates — particularly Trump — interrupting the other during their allotted speaking time.
