Trump campaign demands new in-person debate dates after wildly accusing committee of protecting Joe Biden

President Trump.
(Image credit: Morry Gash-Pool/Getty Images)

President Trump's campaign has suggested the next debate went virtual to "protect Joe Biden" — but not for the reason that makes sense.

Early Thursday, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced the next presidential debate, scheduled for Oct. 15, would be held virtually. But Trump's team decided to ignore the fact that the debate was moved because their candidate has a contagious and potentially deadly disease, and instead claim it was to give Biden the advantage.

"The American people should not be deprived of the chance to see the two candidates for president debate face to face two more times," the Trump campaign said Thursday, forgetting Trump was the one to opt out of the debate in the first place. It then purported the change was made because Vice President Mike Pence "had just wiped the floor" with Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) during Wednesday's debate, and that it would let Biden use a "teleprompter from his basement bunker."

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Instead, the Trump campaign said it would agree to moving the Oct. 15 debate to Oct. 22 if it could be in person, as Biden's team had suggested. In addition, the debate scheduled for Oct. 22 should be held Oct. 29, the campaign added.

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This is far from the first debunked conspiracy Trump's supporters have pushed against Biden during the debates. At the first one, they claimed Biden was receiving answers via an earpiece before the debate had even started. They've also pushed disproven lies about Biden relying on a teleprompter during interviews.

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Kathryn Krawczyk

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.