ABC has announced a town hall with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden . The televised event will take the place of the second presidential debate, originally scheduled for October 15. The report from The Hollywood Reporter came on the heels of a morning full of uncertainty for any remaining debates prior to the 2020 election.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , on Thursday, October 8, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced their decision to hold the scheduled October 15 town hall as a virtual debate, with both President Trump and former Vice President Biden participating from remote locations.
Moderator Steve Scully and town hall participants would have been located at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida.
Immediately following the announcement by the CPD, Trump’s campaign released two statements that said the administration refuses to participate in a virtual debate; the first statement announced a decision by the Trump campaign to hold a rally in lieu of participating.
“We’ll pass on this sad excuse to bail out Joe Biden and do a rally instead,” read the statement signed by Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien. Details of the rally have yet to be revealed.
Biden’s team also pulled out of the event, stating that they “would find an appropriate place to take questions from voters directly on October 15.”
Further statements seem to have reflected an agreement by both parties to push the debate back to October 22. The final sign-off on one release was directed at the CPD, Biden, and the media.
“The CPD and the media cannot hide Joe Biden forever. Americans deserve to hear directly from both presidential candidates on these dates, October 22 and 29.”
Biden’s team has so far called October 22 the final debate before the election.
“We look forward to participating in the final debate, scheduled for October 22, which already is tied for the latest debate date in 40 years. Donald Trump can show up, or he can decline again. That’s his choice,” the Biden campaign wrote.
ABC took note of Biden’s intention to continue to find a way take questions from voters. The network has stated that the former vice president agreed to the town hall on October 15, to be moderated by ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos.
In September, ABC News held a town hall with President Trump, but stated at the time that they could not find an agreeable date for Biden to do the same.
The town hall will take place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the scheduled time to be announced.
