- The Washington Times - Sunday, October 11, 2020

Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden will attend the Oct. 22 debate, his deputy campaign manager confirmed Sunday to CNN.

The debate in Nashville was scheduled to be the third showdown between Mr. Biden and President Trump, but it will actually be only the second.

Mr. Trump refused to participate in the Oct. 15 debate in Miami after the Commission on Presidential Debates made it a virtual event in light of his COVID-19 infection.



Since that debate was cancelled, the president’s doctor has said he is no longer contagious.

The Biden campaign is insisting that the commission and the Cleveland Clinic ensure everyone tests negative for COVID-19 before the Oct. 22 debate.

“We had every intention of showing up on the 15th. He — Donald Trump — refused to participate,” said Kate Bedingfield, the Biden campaign’s deputy manager. “We have every intention, we will be there on the 22nd as well.”

“We are not going to let him rewrite the rules,” she added of the president.

Mr. Biden will participate in a town hall on ABC News instead of the debate on Thursday, while Mr. Trump plans to hold a rally Monday in Florida.

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The president has called for another debate on Oct. 29 since the one on Oct. 15 was scrapped. An additional debate has not been confirmed.

 

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