PoliticoFirst US presidential debate moved to Cleveland amid coronavirus concerns
- Original host University of Notre Dame pulled out with two months to go, citing pandemic constraints
- Instead, Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden will face off in Ohio on September 29
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Zach Montellaro on politico.com on July 27, 2020.
The first presidential primary debate has been moved to Cleveland amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, organisers announced.
The Commission on Presidential Debates, the non-profit group that has conducted the general election debates for decades, announced on Monday that Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic will co-host the first presidential debate on September 29 between President Donald Trump and former vice-president Joe Biden.
The debate will be held on the Health Education Campus, a joint project between Case Western and the Cleveland Clinic. The University of Notre Dame, in South Bend, Indiana, announced that it was pulling out from its hosting responsibilities amid the pandemic.
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“The inevitable reduction in student attendance in the debate hall, volunteer opportunities and ancillary educational events undermined the primary benefit of hosting – to provide our students with a meaningful opportunity to engage in the American political process,” Notre Dame's president, the Reverend John Jenkins, said in a statement, praising the professionalism of the CPD.
“But in the end, the constraints the coronavirus pandemic put on the event – as understandable and necessary as they are – have led us to withdraw.”