Biden will answer voters' questions instead of debate after Trump opts out

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

published 8 October 2020

Democratic nominee Joe Biden has a new plan.

After the Commission on Presidential Debates said it would make next week's presidential debate virtue due to coronavirus concerns, President Trump said Thursday he simply wouldn't come. Biden opted out as well later in the day, but still called on Trump to debate later on.

The Oct. 15 debate was set to be a town hall with undecided voters, with candidates directly answering their questions. So without Trump there, Biden's campaign said he'll find "an appropriate place to take questions directly from voters" in a Thursday statement. Trump "clearly does not want to face questions from voters about his failures on COVID and the economy," the Biden campaign continued, but hoped the debate commission would reschedule the town hall to Oct. 22 so "the president is not able to evade accountability."

Subscribe to The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox