Trump: I will not waste my time on virtual TV debate!
Irate Donald pulls out... as fly is the clear winner in telly tussle between deputies
DonalD Trump yesterday said he would not ‘waste his time’ with the second US presidential debate after organisers said it would be held virtually.
The President refused the proposal to debate against rival Joe Biden with each candidate in a remote location speaking via a TV screen to the audience.
Mr Trump said he wouldn’t ‘sit at a computer’ and complained that the moderator could ‘cut you off whenever they want’.
It comes a day after Republican Vice-President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris, Mr Biden’s Democratic running mate, met in the sole vice presidential debate.
Usually a side spectacle to the main leadership race, the showdown in Utah garnered more interest than usual this year.
The real star of the night, however, was a fly that landed on Mr Pence’s head and stayed there for more than two minutes without him noticing. This attracted a lot of attention online and led a proBiden group to offer a £7 fly swatter which then sold out quickly.
During the first presidential debate last week, Mr Trump interrupted so often it became a chaotic mess which Mr Biden called a ‘national embarrassment’. Since then the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), a bipartisan body which organises the events, has been working to ensure a more ‘orderly’ second round.
Their plans were further complicated by Mr Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis and he may still be contagious on Thursday when the debate is due to take place.
The CPD said the virtual format, with a live audience in Miami, was the best way to ‘protect the health and safety of all involved’. The event was due to be in a town-hallstyle format with questions from voters, but speaking to Fox Business Mr Trump rejected it outright. He said: ‘no, I am not going to waste my time on a virtual debate.
‘That is not what debating is all about. You sit behind a computer and do a debate? That’s ridiculous. and then they cut you off whenever they want.’ Mr Trump dismissed the prospect as a ‘joke’ and claimed he is in ‘great shape’ for re-election even though polls have him ten points down.
In response, Mr Biden said he suspected the President might make a U-turn on the decision not to appear because Mr Trump ‘changes his mind every second’.
The President’s campaign team later suggested the debate could be delayed for seven days, to october 22, with a third round then put back to october 29, five days before america goes to the polls.