Joseph R. Biden’s campaign said Thursday that the panel overseeing the presidential debates should postpone the Oct. 15 debate between Mr. Biden and President Trump and that Mr. Biden will find an “appropriate place” to take questions from voters elsewhere on that date.
Biden campaign communications director Kate Bedingfield said the candidate was prepared to accept the Commission on Presidential Debates’ proposal for a virtual town hall but is now shifting gears after Mr. Trump refused to participate.
“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,” Ms. Bedingfield said.
The third and final presidential debate between Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden is currently scheduled for Oct. 22 in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Trump campaign said they agree that the town hall debate should take place on Oct. 22 and suggested pushing back the final debate to Oct. 29.
“The CPD and the media cannot hide Joe Biden forever,” said Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien.
SEE ALSO: Donald Trump to hold campaign rally instead of debating Joe Biden virtually
Ms. Bedingfield said the Oct. 22 debate should be the final one.
“Trump’s erratic behavior does not allow him to rewrite the calendar, and pick new dates of his choosing,” she said.
The commission said earlier Thursday that the Oct. 15 town hall-style debate would take place with voters and the moderator in Miami, and Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden participating remotely.
Mr. Stepien said it was “extremely suspect” that the announcement came the day after Vice President Mike Pence “wiped the floor” with Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala D. Harris in their debate.
“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,” Mr. Stepien said.
The announcement also came after Mr. Trump was hospitalized for several days after testing positive for the coronavirus.
The president said shortly after the commission’s announcement that he would not participate in a virtual debate with Mr. Biden and that he was feeling a lot better.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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