US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will not participate in the second presidential debate with Joe Biden after the Commission on Presidential Debates said the event will be held virtually in the wake of the president's positive coronavirus diagnosis. "I am not going to do a virtual debate," Trump said on Fox Business. "I am not going to waste my time on a virtual debate." The commission said it made the decision after Trump was treated for coronavirus. He has no current symptoms but the White House is tackling a cluster of positive tests. Biden's campaign on Thursday swiftly agreed to the virtual format. Frank Fahrenkopf, head of the debate commission, told CNN that the commission spoke with both campaigns "just before" they announced that the second debate would be held virtually. "We did not consult with them," he said, adding that their decision is "supported by the Cleveland Clinic," the commission's health advisers. Trump complained during the interview with Fox that a virtual debate would mean he would have to "sit behind a computer" in a virtual debate and the moderator could "cut you off whenever they want." But a virtual debate is not unprecedented — the third contest between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy in 1960 occurred with both candidates in different locations. Bill Stepien, Trump's campaign manager, accused the commission on Thursday of "unilaterally canceling an in-person debate" to help Biden and said the president will be holding a rally instead of attending the debate. The first presidential debate had descended into insults and interruptions. The vice-presidential debate, held on Wednesday night between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris, was a far more measured affair. The election will be held on Nov. 3. The latest opinion polls give Biden a high single-digit lead nationally, but the outcome is often decided in battleground states where the races can be much closer. — Agencies
