WASHINGTON, D.C. — The status of the second presidential debate is in question after the Commission on Presidential Debates announced the face-off between President Trump and Vice President Biden would be virtual.
Shortly after the announcement, Trump said on Fox Business, "That is not acceptable to us. I’m not going to do a virtual debate. I am not going to waste my time.”
Following that, his opponent Joe Biden said that he will not participate in the debate.
Rather, the former Vice President's campaign said that the candidate will "will find an appropriate place to take questions from voters directly on October 15th."
This is a developing story. Read below for further updates throughout the day:
9:45 p.m. EDT
The Commission on Presidential Debates says they are not considering shifting the second presidential debate from virtual back to in-person, despite a request from President Donald Trump’s team.
The chair of the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates told The Associated Press that the final debate, scheduled for Oct. 22, was still slated to go on with both candidates present as planned. But next Thursday’s debate seemed to be gone, after the Trump team objected to the commission’s format change.
Trump, who is eager to return to the campaign trail despite uncertainty about his health, said he wouldn’t participate if the debate wasn’t in person. Biden’s campaign then suggested the event be delayed a week until Oct. 22, which is when the third and final debate was already scheduled.
Next, Trump countered again, agreeing to a debate on Oct. 22 – but only if face to face – and asking that a third contest be added on Oct. 29, just before the election. But Biden’s advisers rejected squaring off that late in the campaign.
After the release late Thursday of a letter from Trump doctor Navy Cmdr. Sean Conley that the president had “completed his course of therapy” and could resume campaigning this weekend, the Trump campaign called on the commission to hold next week’s debate in person as originally scheduled.
“There is therefore no medical reason why the Commission on Presidential Debates should shift the debate to a virtual setting, postpone it, or otherwise alter it in any way,” said Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien.
But commission chair Frank Fahrenkopf said late Thursday that the decision to hold the debate virtually, guided by its medical advisers at the Cleveland Clinic, was not going to be reversed.
The commission said it made the announcement in order to “protect the health and safety of all involved,” including the everyday citizens invited to ask questions of the candidates.
The debate commission, which has the unenviable task of finding common ground between the competing campaigns, already came under scrutiny after the first debate between Trump and Biden deteriorated, with the president frequently interrupting his opponent and the moderator unable to take control.
3:47 p.m. EDT
Conservative radio stalwart Rush Limbaugh announced Thursday that President Trump will be hosting his radio show Friday, billing it as "the largest virtual rally in radio history."
3:11 p.m. EDT
ABC News announced that they will be hosting a town hall event with former Vice President Joe Biden on Oct. 15 in Philadelphia, moderated by George Stephanopoulos.
1:07 p.m. EDT
Biden's deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield responded to the Trump campaign's request to move the debate: "Donald Trump doesn't make the debate schedule; the Debate Commission does."
We accepted the three dates — Sept. 29, Oct. 15, and Oct. 22 — in June," Bedingfield said. "Trump chose today to pull out of the October 15th debate. Trump's erratic behavior does not allow him to rewrite the calendar, and pick new dates of his choosing. We look forward to participating in the final debate, scheduled for October 22, which already is tied for the latest debate date in 40 years. Donald Trump can show up, or he can decline again. That's his choice."
12:30 p.m. EDT
The Trump campaign is now calling for the event to be rescheduled, according to a statement from the president's campaign manager, Bill Stepien.
In his statement, Stepien lobbed insults at the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.
“The American people should not be deprived of the chance to see the two candidates for president debate face to face two more times just because the Commission on Presidential Debates wants to protect Joe Biden," Stepien claimed in his statement. "It remains extremely suspect that the CPD announced the brand new virtual format at 7:30am ET today immediately after Vice President Mike Pence had just wiped the floor with Senator Kamala Harris."
"As President Trump said, a virtual debate is a non-starter and would clearly be a gift to Biden because he would be relying on his teleprompter from his basement bunker," he said, adding, "we agree that this should happen on October 22, and accordingly, the third debate should then be shifted back one week to October 29.”
Earlier Thursday
The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates made the announcement Thursday morning, a week before the two were scheduled to face off in Miami. The candidates will “participate from separate remote locations,” while the participants and moderator remain in Miami, the commission said.
Shortly after news broke, Trump said on Fox Business, "That is not acceptable to us. I’m not going to do a virtual debate. I am not going to waste my time.”
Trump's campaign manager, Bill Stepien, said shortly after: "We’ll pass on this sad excuse to bail out Joe Biden and do a rally instead.”
"President Trump won the first debate despite a terrible and biased moderator in Chris Wallace, and everybody knows it," Stepien claimed in a statement. "For the swamp creatures at the Presidential Debate Commission to now rush to Joe Biden’s defense by unilaterally canceling an in-person debate is pathetic. That’s not what debates are about or how they’re done. Here are the facts: President Trump will have posted multiple negative tests prior to the debate, so there is no need for this unilateral declaration. The safety of all involved can easily be achieved without canceling a chance for voters to see both candidates go head to head. We’ll pass on this sad excuse to bail out Joe Biden and do a rally instead.”
It remains to be seen what will happen if Trump follows through on his threat to not participate.
Biden's deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said in a statement that "Joe Biden was prepared to accept the CPD's proposal for a virtual Town Hall, but the President has refused, as Donald Trump clearly does not want to face questions from the voters about his failures on COVID and the economy."
"As a result, Joe Biden will find an appropriate place to take questions from voters directly on October 15th, as he has done on several occasions in recent weeks," Bedingfield continued.
The campaign also expressed hope that the debate would be rescheduled: "Given the President's refusal to participate on October 15th, we hope the Debate Commission will move the Biden-Trump Town Hall to October 22nd, so that the President is not able to evade accountability. The voters should have a chance to ask questions of both candidates, directly. Every Presidential candidate since 1992 has participated in such an event, and it would be a shame if Donald Trump was the first to refuse"
Speaking to reporters earlier Thursday, Biden said it would be "irresponsible" to comment on Trump's threats to not participate in the debate, saying "he changes his mind every second."
“We don’t know what the president is going to do—he changes his mind every second. For me to comment on that now would be irresponsible," Biden said, adding that he has not decided his next move. “If he goes off and he’s going to have a rally, I'll ... I don't know what I'll do."
"You never know what's going to come out of his mouth," Biden said to ABC News' Molly Nagle.
Earlier in the day, the Biden campaign released a statement about the debate: "Vice President Biden looks forward to speaking directly to the American people and comparing his plan for bringing the country together and building back better with Donald Trump's failed leadership on the coronavirus that has thrown the economy he inherited into the worst downturn since the Great Depression."
Biden, for his part, said he and Trump “shouldn’t have a debate” as long as the president remains COVID positive.
Biden told reporters in Pennsylvania that he was “looking forward to being able to debate him” but said “we’re going to have to follow very strict guidelines.”
Trump fell ill with the virus last Thursday, just 48 hours after debating Biden in person for the first time in Cleveland. While the two candidates remained a dozen feet apart during the debate, Trump’s infection sparked health concerns for Biden and sent him to undergo multiple COVID-19 tests before returning to the campaign trail.
Trump was still contagious with the virus when he was discharged from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday but his doctors have not provided any detailed update on his status. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19 can be contagious for as many as — and should isolate for at least — 10 days.
It’s not the first debate in which the candidates are not in the same room. In 1960, the third presidential debate between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy was broadcast with the two candidates on opposite coasts.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.