Donald Trump, Joe Biden debate marked by clashes, but less chaos
After the first presidential debate was panned so widely that organizers introduced a mute button, Thursday’s second and final debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden was far more civil. Whether because of that button or the terrible reviews — especially for Trump — the two interrupted each other far less frequently, even as they clashed on issues ranging from the coronavirus to crime. Trump, in particular, was on his best behavior early, especially with the moderator, whom he’d repeatedly attacked before the debate. “So far, I respect very much the way you’re handling this,” Trump said to NBC’s Kristen Welker when she gave him time to respond to Biden at one point. Because of the pandemic, only around 200 people were seated inside the debate hall in the massive college arena in Nashville. That included a representative of the Commission on Presidential Debates, who was tasked with ensuring each candidate had a two full minutes of uninterrupted time to deliver opening answers on six major topics, according to debate commission chair Frank Fahrenkopf. And it seemed to be working, at least during the debate’s opening questions. While Trump and Biden each shook his head disapprovingly during the other’s answer about the pandemic, there was minimal interruption. And neither man tried to speak while he was muted during the opening questions. A member of each of the Trump and Biden campaigns monitored the person who controlled the mute button backstage, Fahrenkopf told The Associated Press, noting that the button would not be used beyond the first four minutes of each topic. The button was among a handful of changes implemented by the nonpartisan debate commission to help ensure a more orderly debate following the raucous and widely criticized opening debate 23 days ago. Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19 two days after the event, and he and the White House have refused to say whether he abided by commission rules and tested negative for the virus before that debate. This time, Trump was given a test aboard Air Force One en route to Nashville Thursday and tested negative, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said. Biden’s campaign reported he also tested negative. Organizers initially planned to separate the candidates with plexiglass barriers, but removed them hours before the debate began. A Trump campaign official said the decision was made after Meadows called Anthony Fauci, the nation’s highly respected top infectious diseases expert, during a walkthrough of the venue site. Meadows them put Fauci on speakerphone, and Fauci told those in the room that all it would do was provide a false sense of security, the person said. Additionally, any audience member who refused to wear a mask would be removed, organizers said. Last month, several members of the Trump family removed their masks once seated in the debate hall, but were allowed to stay. This time, Melania Trump, who was appearing in public for the first time since her own diagnosis with the virus, was seen in her seat wearing a mask. Before the debate began, Fahrenkopf repeated the instruction to the small audience. “If you won’t leave, you’ll be escorted,” he said. Fahrenkopf said in an earlier interview that the safety measures would help reduce the risk of infection. “The Trump campaign’s attitude was that the president was not contagious anymore, but we’re going to go with our medical advisers,” he said. Indeed, the president of the university called it “the safest place in America tonight.” The primetime affair played out inside a 90,000-square-foot (8,360-square-meter) arena at Belmont University, a picturesque institution of more than 8,200 students just a mile from Nashville’s music row. The university also hosted a town hall-style debate between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain in 2008. There was a far smaller audience this time around. Only around 200 people were allowed inside, a mix of invited guests of the campaigns and the debate commission, students, the commission’s production team, security, and health and safety personnel. Audience members were seated in accordance with social distancing recommendations; several empty seats separated each person or small group. All audience members and support staff were required to undergo coronavirus testing onsite within three days of the event. They wore colored wristbands as evidence of their negative tests. There were several layers of security protecting the attendees, and dozens of protesters gathered just off campus beyond the security perimeter. One of them held a large white sign: “220,000 DEAD … Trump FAILED US.” Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Next Trump-Biden debates uncertain, though Oct. 22 is likely
The campaign’s final debates between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden were thrown into uncertainty Thursday as the rival camps offered dueling proposals for the remaining faceoffs that have been upended by the president’s coronavirus infection. The chair of the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates told The Associated Press that the final debate, scheduled for Oct. 22, was still slated to go on with both candidates present as planned. But next Thursday’s debate seemed to be gone, after the Trump team objected to the commission’s format change. The whipsaw day began with an announcement from the commission that the town hall-style affair set for Oct. 15 in Miami would be held virtually. The commission cited health concerns following Trump’s infection as the reason for the change. Trump, who is eager to return to the campaign trail despite uncertainty about his health, said he wouldn’t participate if the debate wasn’t in person. Biden’s campaign then suggested the event be delayed a week until Oct. 22, which is when the third and final debate was already scheduled. Next, Trump countered again, agreeing to a debate on Oct. 22 — but only if face to face — and asking that a third contest be added on Oct. 29, just before the election. But Biden’s advisers rejected squaring off that late in the campaign. After the release late Thursday of a letter from Trump doctor Navy Cmdr. Sean Conley that the president had “completed his course of therapy” and could resume campaigning this weekend, the Trump campaign called on the commission to hold next week’s debate in person as originally scheduled. “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,” said Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien. But commission chair Frank Fahrenkopf said late Thursday that the decision to hold the debate virtually, guided by its medical advisers at the Cleveland Clinic, was not going to be reversed. The commission said it made the announcement in order to “protect the health and safety of all involved,” including the everyday citizens invited to ask questions of the candidates. The debate commission, which has the unenviable task of finding common ground between the competing campaigns, already came under scrutiny after the first debate between Trump and Biden deteriorated, with the president frequently interrupting his opponent and the moderator unable to take control. The Oct. 22 debate in Nashville, Tennessee, is scheduled to feature a format similar to the first. Biden’s campaign has suggested that it be modified to the “town meeting” format, though the Trump campaign has not weighed in. Founded after the 1984 presidential election, the commission has organized every general election debate since 1988 — and typically selects the dates, moderators, formats and locations without input from the candidates. Biden moved quickly to make sure he would still appear in front of a television audience next week. Instead of debating Trump on Thursday, he will take part in a town hall sponsored by ABC News. As he campaigned in Arizona, Biden said he would indeed attend the Oct. 22 debate. “We agreed to three debates back in the summer,” Biden said. “I’m showing up. I’ll be there. And if, in fact, he shows up, fine. If he doesn’t, fine.” For Trump, who is recovering from COVID-19 at the White House after spending three days in the hospital, the health-induced changes are an unwelcome disruption to his effort to shift focus away from a virus that has killed more than 210,000 Americans this year. In an interview with Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo shortly after the commission’s announcement, Trump insisted he was in “great shape” and called the idea of a virtual debate a “joke.” “I’m not going to do a virtual debate,” he declared. Stepien said Trump would stage a rally rather than debate next Thursday, though it’s not yet clear if he will be well enough to do that. With less than four weeks until Election Day and with millions of voters casting early ballots, pressure is building on Trump to turn around a campaign that is trailing Biden in polls nationally and in most battlegrounds, where the margin is narrower. A debate before an audience of tens of millions of television viewers could provide that reset. But another debate could also expose Trump to political risks. GOP strategists say the party’s support began eroding after his seething performance against Biden last week when he didn’t clearly denounce a white supremacist group. Trump’s apparent unwillingness to change his style to win back voters he needs — particularly women — was on display again Thursday during his Fox Business interview when he referred to Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris as a “monster.” Campaigning with Harris in Arizona, Biden called Trump’s characterization of the first Black woman on a major party’s presidential ticket “despicable” and added that it was “so beneath the office of the presidency.” This would not be the first time Trump has skipped a debate. During the 2016 Republican primary, he boycotted the last debate before Iowa’s first-in-the nation caucuses, holding a fundraiser for veterans instead — a move he later speculated may have contributed to his loss in the state. Trump fell ill with the virus on Oct. 1, just 48 hours after sharing a stage with Biden in person during the first presidential debate in Cleveland. While the two candidates remained a dozen feet apart, Trump’s infection sparked health concerns for Biden and sent him to undergo multiple COVID-19 tests before returning to the campaign trail. His campaign announced Thursday that Biden had undergone his fifth such test and was found to be negative. Trump was still contagious with the virus when he was discharged from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday, but his doctor said Thursday he had “completed his course of therapy” and could resume campaigning this weekend. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those with mild to
