The Debate Over Debates: Trump Says He Won't Participate In A Virtual Town Hall

Updated at 1:45 p.m. ET

President Trump says he won't participate in a virtual town hall, after the independent commission that runs presidential debates announced that next week's scheduled event would be virtual for health and safety reasons.

His decision set off a back-and-forth between the major-party presidential campaigns about the remaining debates.

"I'm not going to do a virtual debate," Trump told Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo on Thursday morning, calling the format "a waste of time."

His comments came soon after the Commission on Presidential Debates announced the format change, which it said was made "to protect the health and safety of all involved." The Oct. 15 town hall was set for Miami.

Instead, Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden — along with all the town hall participants — would be in in separate, remote locations, the commission said.

Thursday morning's interview was Trump's first since returning from the hospital Monday to receive the rest of his treatment for COVID-19 at the White House.

Trump told Bartiromo that he had no advance notice of the change.

Bill Stepien, Trump's campaign manager — who also has tested positive for the coronavirus — rebuked what he called the commission's "unilateral declaration."

"For the swamp creatures at the Presidential Debate Commission to now rush to Joe Biden's defense by unilaterally canceling an in-person debate is pathetic," he 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."

The Biden campaign quickly fired back.

"Joe Biden was prepared to accept the CPD's proposal for a virtual Town Hall, but the President has refused, as Donald Trump clearly does not want to face questions from the voters about his failures on COVID and the economy," Biden deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said in a statement. "As a result, Joe Biden will find an appropriate place to take questions from voters directly on October 15th, as he has done on several occasions in recent weeks."

Bedingfield called on the commission to make the third and final scheduled presidential debate, slated for Oct. 22, a town hall.

"Every Presidential candidate since 1992 has participated in such an event, and it would be a shame if Donald Trump was the first to refuse," she said.

Stepien then sent another statement Thursday afternoon, calling on the commission to just postpone the second and third debates a week each. So the town hall would happen Oct. 22 and the third debate would be Oct. 29 — both in person.

"Voters should have the opportunity to directly question Biden's 47-year failed record of leadership," Stepien said in his second statement.

The Biden campaign quickly rejected the Oct. 29 proposal, saying the schedule is set by the debate commission, not the president.

"Trump chose today to pull out of the October 15th debate. Trump's erratic behavior does not allow him to rewrite the calendar, and pick new dates of his choosing," Bedingfield said in a statement.

These developments came a day after Vice President Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Biden's running mate, met in the sole vice presidential debate.

The candidates sat at desks more than 12 feet apart and separated by plexiglass shields. The measures were put in place after Trump and several other White House officials tested positive for the coronavirus — though Pence has not.

Stepien noted the timing of the commission's announcement of the change of format for the second debate, saying in a statement: "Clearly the commission wanted to shift attention away from Pence's complete victory."

The pandemic and the more than 210,000 Americans who have died from the virus are likely to dominate the next few weeks before Election Day, Nov. 3.

On Tuesday, Biden had said they shouldn't debate next week if Trump is still infected with the coronavirus.

Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh had suggested the format of the second presidential debate could be altered to accommodate safety concerns, saying, "Everyone agrees that an outdoor event would be the safest possible environment."

Trump's medical team said Wednesday that the president's vital signs all remain stable and in normal range.

"The president this morning says, 'I feel great!' " his physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said in a memo.

Conley told reporters Monday, the day of Trump's discharge from Walter Reed National Medical Military Center, that while he is cautiously optimistic about the president's prognosis, medical staff will remain on guard for another week.

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