Culture

Next Presidential Debate Canceled, But Voters Could Watch Dueling Trump and Biden Town Halls


President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden will not square off for their second presidential debate, which was scheduled for October 15 in Miami. Trump backed out of the event when the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) announced it would use a virtual format to “protect health and safety.”

Trump was hospitalized on October 2 after testing positive for COVID-19, but he returned to the campaign trail on October 12, in Florida, the Washington Post reported. Trump has rallies scheduled for Tuesday in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Wednesday in Des Moines, Iowa, and Thursday (the original day of the debate) in Greenville, North Carolina.

Meanwhile, Biden will campaign in Florida on Tuesday, in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, and will participate in a solo town hall event, instead of the town hall debate, on Thursday night. There is reporting that Trump may do a town hall at the same time.

If you still want to tune in to something on Thursday night, here’s what you can check out instead of the second presidential debate.

Joe Biden’s town hall

Former vice president Biden will be in Philadelphia taking questions from voters at an ABC News town hall, presented as a special episode of 20/20, from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. EST. The network already has a YouTube stream scheduled for the event.

As the Beaver County Times explored, Pennsylvania is a key battleground state in the 2020 presidential election, with turnout in urban and suburban areas like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia key to Biden’s chances in the Keystone State. Trump narrowly won Pennsylvania in 2016, but Hillary Clinton won several counties in the state’s southeastern region around Philly.

Whatever Donald Trump does

Sources told CNN and the Washington Post that Trump’s team may be in talks with NBC News about a dueling town hall event for the same time as Biden’s, at the time for which the debate was originally scheduled. According to CNN, Trump campaign staffers have been making veiled references to a town hall event on Thursday evening that would be on “multiple networks” — a possible reference to NBC’s spin-off news stations CNBC and MSNBC.

A source familiar with NBC’s plans told the Post that the network wanted to stagger the events so viewers wouldn’t have to choose, but the timing remains as uncertain as whether or not the event will actually take place.



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