President Donald Trump told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Thursday that he will not participate in the next debate slated for October 15, shortly after the Commission on Presidential Debates announced that the next presidential debate would be virtual to keep everyone safe.
The commission said the two candidates will participate in the town hall debate “from separate remote locations.”
But Trump said the change was unacceptable to him, and he will not debate Democrat Joe Biden.
“The commission changed the debate style and that’s not acceptable to us,” Trump said on “Mornings with Maria.” “I beat him in the first debate, I beat him easily.”
The president added that he expected to “beat him in the second debate also.”
“I’m not going to do a virtual debate,” Trump went on. “I’m not going to waste my time at a virtual debate.”
The president said he wasn’t going to “sit at a computer” to debate, calling it “ridiculous.”
“They’re trying to protect Biden,” Trump said. “Everybody is.”
President Donald Trump is currently battling the deadly coronavirus, and Joe Biden had said he would not debate him in person if the President were still sick by next week.
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the deadly coronavirus last week along with more than 30 people in the White House.
The White House outbreak has continued to expand and the senior Pentagon military leadership has also gone into self isolation.
Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa. Simon covers President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. government, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington D.C. and New York City.