President Donald Trump on Thursday pulled out of the next presidential debate, saying he won’t “waste his time” on it after the Commission on Presidential Debates announced it would take place virtually to protect “the health and safety of all involved.”
Trump is still being treated for Covid-19. His campaign said it would hold a rally instead, and accused the commission of changing the format to benefit former Vice President Joe Biden.
The debate is still set to take place in the form of a town hall, but the commission said that Trump and Biden would be invited to participate remotely. Moderator Steve Scully of C-SPAN is to be at the venue that was slated to host the debate, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, next Thursday, Oct. 15.
In an interview on the Fox Business Network on Thursday morning, Trump said the new debate format is “not acceptable to us.”
“I’m not going to waste my time on a virtual debate,” Trump said, adding that he doesn’t like the idea of a virtual debate because a moderator could cut him off at any time.
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