WASHINGTON • US President Donald Trump has said he will skip next week's debate with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden if it is not in-person, saying he will instead hold live rallies, as polls show him headed for a possible defeat.
Mr Trump's comments came moments after the Commission on Presidential Debates said next Thursday's town hall-style forum in Miami - the second of three presidential debates - would be conducted virtually as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus.
Mr Trump said the panel was trying "to protect Biden" by cancelling the in-person debate.
"No, I'm not going to waste my time on a virtual debate," Mr Trump said in a telephone interview with Fox Business yesterday morning. "That's not what debating's about."
Mr Trump and several of his aides are recovering from Covid-19, after regularly holding events and meetings without masks or social distancing.
The first presidential debate, marked by Mr Trump constantly interrupting and cross-talking over Mr Biden, cost Mr Trump voter support in polls afterwards, particularly among female voters.
Mr Biden, speaking to reporters yesterday morning, said he would follow the commission's recommendations but that the fate of the debate remains unclear.
Both campaigns said the commission acted without consulting them.
In the virtual debate, moderator Steve Scully, C-Span's political editor, will be live from the planned location of the Adrienne Arsht Centre for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, and the commission said the White House press pool will "provide coverage".
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