Despite hopeful speculation, Biden campaign says remaining debates are still on
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At the end of Tuesday night's raucous presidential debate, cable news hosts and pundits immediately began speculating on whether it would be the only one held this year, but Democratic nominee Joe Biden's campaign quickly dashed that dream.
Many thought Tuesday's debate was an unmitigated disaster, as Trump routinely interrupted Biden and moderator Chris Wallace. CNN's Wolf Blitzer, for example, called it an "embarrassment for the United States" and wondered whether the next two debates would be canceled.
During a phone call with reporters, Kate Bedingfield, Biden's deputy campaign manager, said he is "going to show up" at the next debate, scheduled for Oct. 15 in Miami. Biden wants to "continue speaking directly to the American people," Bedingfield said, and is looking forward to the debate's town hall format, with the nominees taking questions from undecided voters.
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"There is an open question here based on what we saw from Donald Trump tonight," Bedingfield said. "Is he going to try to bully actual voters? Is he going to insult his way through the next debate? Joe Biden's going to show up. ... We'll see if [Trump] decides to show up in Miami next month." Biden is also planning on attending the third debate set for Oct. 22 in Nashville, Bedingfield confirmed. "We are going to the debates, guys," she said. "We don't know how many different ways we can say it. Yes, we are going to the debates."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
