BREAKING: Trump says he won’t participate in a virtual debate; Biden accepts the commission’s offer

Trump said in a television interview Thursday that he would not participate in a virtual town hall with Biden, dismissing a format announced less than an hour earlier by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

Trump said he just learned of the decision that the second debate, scheduled for Oct. 15, would be virtual instead of in person in Miami.

“I’m not going to waste my time on a virtual debate. That’s not what debating is all about,” he said in an interview with Maria Bartiromo on the Fox Business Network.

Shortly afterward, Biden spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield said he welcomes the chance to participate in a virtual debate.

“Vice President Biden looks forward to speaking directly to the American people and comparing his plan for bringing the country together and building back better with Donald Trump’s failed leadership on the coronavirus that has thrown the strong economy he inherited into the worst downturn since the Great Depression,” she said in a statement.

Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien blasted the commission’s decision in a statement, saying Trump would “do a rally instead” of accepting what he characterized as a “pathetic” decision.

“Here are the facts: President Trump will have posted multiple negative tests prior to the debate, so there is no need for this unilateral declaration,” Stepien said in a statement. “The safety of all involved can easily be achieved without canceling a chance for voters to see both candidates go head to head. We’ll pass on this sad excuse to bail out Joe Biden and do a rally instead.”  (Washington Post)