University of Notre Dame backs out as host of 1st presidential debate due to coronavirus concerns

One of the hosts of a fall presidential debate has dropped out due to the coronavirus pandemic — again.

The University of Notre Dame on Monday announced it will no longer host the first presidential debate scheduled to take place on Sept. 29. Notre Dame President Rev. John Jenkins described this as a "difficult decision" that was made "because the necessary health precautions would have greatly diminished the educational value of hosting the debate on our campus."

The first presidential debate is now moving to Cleveland, Ohio, and will be hosted by Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic, Axios reports.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

This is the second time that a debate host has pulled out due to COVID-19 concerns, The Associated Press notes. Previously, the University of Michigan withdrew from hosting the second debate, with University President Mark Schlissel saying at the time "it is not feasible for us to safely host" it given "the scale and complexity of the work we are undertaking to help assure a safe and healthy fall for our students, faculty and staff and limited visitors." The debate then moved to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida.

The third presidential debate, meanwhile, is set to take place at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and the university said last month it's still "fully committed" to hosting.