Hours after Donald Trump pulled out of the second presidential debate and pledged to hold a rally in its place, his campaign is begging for the event to go on – in person.
In another press release, Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien said the Commission on Presidential Debates “must let the Miami debate proceed” in person.
“President Trump’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, says the President will be medically cleared for ‘safe return to public engagements’ by Saturday, five full days before the originally scheduled debate in Miami on October 15,” the press release said.
The statement continued, “There is therefore no medical reason why the Commission on Presidential Debates should shift the debate to a virtual setting, postpone it, or otherwise alter it in any way.”
UPDATE: Based on Dr. Conley’s letter, the Trump campaign is pushing for the 2nd presidential debate originally scheduled for October 15 in Miami to move forward AS PLANNED https://t.co/TEnAyjq9KZ pic.twitter.com/n4vCuiECyb
— Sara Cook (@saraecook) October 9, 2020
Regardless of how many doctor’s notes this president releases to the public, the American people and the Commission on Presidential Debates have no reason to trust the Trump campaign.
The debate commission quickly responded to Trump’s request, saying it would not be shifting the event back to an in-person setting.
AP: “The chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates says it is not reconsidering shifting the second debate from virtual back to in-person, despite a request from President Donald Trump’s team.”
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) October 9, 2020
It’s simple: Trump blew it
After Donald Trump said early Thursday that he would not be participating in the second presidential debate because he didn’t want to do it virtually, ABC News announced that it would host a town hall with Joe Biden on the same night.
In that setting, the former vice president and current Democratic nominee will be able to do what Trump is apparently too afraid to do: take questions from real voters.
As he realizes what a massive misstep this was for his campaign – a campaign that is already losing badly – Trump is trying to backtrack and act like he never ducked the debate at all.
It’s clear that the longer Donald Trump spends quarantined in the White House full of meds, the more unstable he becomes. That was as clear as ever on Thursday as he spent the day publicly arguing with himself about whether he would participate in the second debate.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
