CNN is ready with an extra lectern in case Joe Biden suddenly joins the debate

published 12 October 2015

Vice President Joe Biden hasn't yet decided whether he'll vie for the Democratic presidential nomination, and CNN's debate Tuesday will go on with or without him (probably without him).

But the network is so prepared for a last-minute change of plans in Las Vegas, they've got an extra lectern on hand:

When CNN announced debate criteria in September, the network made it clear Biden was welcome to join, should he declare his candidacy. But assuming the veep skips out, frontrunner Hillary Clinton will duke it out with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and a host of less formidable opponents: former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, and former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb.

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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.

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