Debates draw outsized attention amid a pandemic-gripped year
US political battle has seen its share of volatile give-and-take from both sides
Political debates are usually an entertaining footnote to the larger story of a presidential election campaign in the United States.
But in pandemic-gripped 2020, they have drawn outsized attention, starting with the first presidential debate between US President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden on Sept 29 in Cleveland.
The contest was unique because of its myriad unending interruptions and insults.
On Wednesday, Vice-President Mike Pence and US Senator Kamala Harris of California, Biden’s running mate, riposted in an encounter that while not as volatile as the one featuring the top of the ticket, had its share of contentiousness and evasiveness.
In a nod to the disease, they also sat 3.7 meters apart, separated by plexiglass panels in Salt Lake City, Utah.
And there was that fly that landed on the head of Pence, giving birth to various internet memes.
Pence’s blood-streaked left eye also drew some attention, but a senior administration official said White House doctors have cleared the vicepresident of a conjunctivitis infection, or pink eye, and believe he had a broken blood vessel, according to the news portal Politico.com.
Next, the Commission on Presidential Debates on Thursday decided to change the format of the second scheduled debate into a virtual contest on Oct 15, pointing to the fact that Trump has been hospitalized for treatment of COVID-19 and may still have the virus.
The Republican president harrumphed that he wouldn’t waste his time on a remote rumble. The event was supposed to be a town hall style meeting in Miami.
“I’m not going to waste my time on a virtual debate. That’s not what debating is all about,” Trump said in a phone interview with Fox Business on Thursday. “You sit behind a computer and do a debate — it’s ridiculous, and then they cut you off whenever they want.”
After Trump said he would not participate, the Biden campaign issued a statement saying the commission should move the town-hall format debate to Oct 22 to give voters a chance to question the candidates.
Trump’s campaign then issued a statement agreeing to push the showdown to Oct 22, but proposed holding what would be the third debate on Oct 29. The Biden campaign rejected the new later date.
Former vice-president Biden, while campaigning in Arizona on Thursday, said: “We agreed to three debates back in the summer. I’m showing up. I’ ll be there. And if, in fact, he shows up, fine. If he doesn’t, fine.”
Key battleground state
Biden said he would hold his own town hall meeting next Thursday in Philadelphia, while Trump said he would hold a rally. Pennsylvania is a key battleground state for the Nov 3 election.
“Trump’s erratic behavior does not allow him to rewrite the calendar and pick new dates of his choosing,” said Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager.
Saying he was feeling “really good”, Trump declared himself ready to resume campaign rallies, saying he does not believe he is still contagious.
“I’d love to do a rally tonight. I wanted to do one last night,” Trump said, adding that “if I’m at a rally, I stand by myself very far away from everybody”.
In other political news, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, is questioning Trump’s fitness to serve, announcing legislation on Thursday that would create a commission to allow Congress to intervene under the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution and remove the president from office.
Pelosi said Trump needs to disclose more about his health after his novel coronavirus infection. On Friday, she planned to reveal legislation that would launch the commission.
“The public needs to know the health condition of the president,” Pelosi said in invoking the 25 th Amendment, which allows a president’s Cabinet or Congress to intervene when a president is unable to conduct the duties of the office.
“Crazy Nancy is the one who should be under observation. They don’t call her Crazy for nothing!” Trump tweeted Thursday afternoon in response.
Pelosi’s legislation would face an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled Senate.