★★★★★ 0/5

Will Presidential Debate change due to COVID?

Questions over whether a town hall style audience should attend second debate -or whether it will go ahead at all.

11
Leave a comment

The second US Presidential Debate is scheduled to take place at 12pm AEDT Friday October 16 (Australian time).

But since Trump tested positive to COVID-19 it isn’t clear what procedures will be in place -or indeed if it will even proceed given the date is within the CDC’s recommended quarantine period.

This is also set to be a ‘town hall’ style format, with voters in the hall asking the questions. Steve Scully of C-SPAN will moderate the debate. There are already doubts being raised about whether an audience should attend, and whether questions  could be asked via Zoom. The first televised presidential debates in 1960, between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy, were done in TV studios.

Officially the Commission on Presidential Debates has not specified if Trump’s diagnosis will affect the second debate.

This week the University of Utah is hosting the Vice Presidential Debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris, with a requirement that everyone who has access to the security perimeter test negative, and that attendees wear masks. An audience is still planned for the event.

Shawn Wood, a spokesman for the University of Utah, said that they had not heard of plans to postpone the event. “The university is ready to host the debate no matter what,” he said.

At last week’s Presidential Debate people who entered the building were tested before entry.

Trump arrived too late to be tested.

Vice Presidential Debate 12pm AEDT Thursday, 8th October SBS / ABC News

Source: Deadline

11 Responses

  3. I’m glad there would be a different moderator if the 2nd presidential debate goes ahead. The more I read about Chris Wallace’s responses to the debate, and father Mike Wallace’s archive interviews from American 60 Minutes, it validates the biased views of the family seen in the 1st debate from the moderator, with the most overt bias from the debate seen in taking the non-neutral position of agreeing with Biden in regards to ranting with Biden saying “I can’t remember everything he was ranting about.”, and Wallace responding “I’m having trouble myself.” Agree or not, it was an inappropriate response by a supposedly neutral moderator. I can understand the overt Democrat bias given the family heritage and there’s nothing against who they choose to side with, but it lacks integrity and respectability to be biased in moderator positions. It may have also harmed the Democrat support to an…

  4. Yes, I remember Reagan was a great speaker, whereas Jimmy Carter was quote a weak public speaker. Reagan’s policies left a lot to be desired though, particularly his pathetic response to the AIDS epidemic.
    If the orange one wins another term, I’m moving to Mars 👽

    2. The zinger that probably won Reagan the debate and the presidency was “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”.

      I get a feeling that Trump is toast so don’t start packing your bags yet!

      1. Kennedy/Nixon for one, mostly on the visuals-it has to be remembered that under the undemocratic US electoral college system that winning all of the college votes in a state could mean winning the state’s popular vote by a handful of ballots-thus even a minor influence could be crucial.

        1. Reminds me of The Simpsons Duff Brewery tour episode with Homer and the old commercial of Kennedy/Nixon ,JFK , I’d like to express my fondness for Duff Beer ,Nixon ,I’d also like to express my fondness for that particular beer ,boo ,the man never drank a Duff in his life.😂.

        2. Yes, that was the very first televised Presidential debate You’re right on the visuals. Nixon refused to wear makeup whereas Kennedy had no hesitation.

Leave a Reply