Second US presidential debate between Trump and Biden officially cancelled

The Commission on Presidential Debates confirmed it will now focus on preparations for the final debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden

Trump said he has stopped taking coronavirus medication and will resume campaigning, with a weekend event at the White House and a rally in Florida

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US President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden will not be having a virtual debate, but Trump’s campaign said he would happily go head-to-head with Biden without the involvement of the Commission on Presidential Debates. Photo: AP

Published: 12:22pm, 10 Oct 2020Updated: 7:12am, 17 Oct 2020

Those following the arguments around how and when the next US presidential debate will take place were subjected to further whiplash on Friday, when news broke that organisers had decided to cancel the upcoming head-to-head altogether.

“It is now apparent there will be no debate on October 15,” the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) said in a statement: “The CPD will turn its attention to preparations for the final presidential debate scheduled for October 22.”

The decision to cancel the Miami debate was first reported by The Wall Street Journal and later confirmed by CNN.

It came after US President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, announced he would not take part in the event following the commission’s earlier decision to move the event online amid coronavirus fears.

Trump – whose strategy in the first debate revolved around repeated interruption of his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden – said he would not take part in a virtual debate because it would give the moderator the power to “mute” him. He said the format change was “ridiculous” and it would be a waste of his time to take part.

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