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AFP
Washington
Donald Trump and White House challenger Joe Biden will duel for airtime in rival televised town hall events on Thursday night, after their second head-to-head debate was scrapped following the president’s COVID-19 diagnosis.
Trump set up the scheduling clash by organising his own town hall on NBC at the same time as Biden had arranged his event on ABC.
The president, a former reality TV show star and a keen follower of viewing figures, will be seeking to score a victory over Biden by attracting a bigger audience during the primetime 8:00 pm EST (0000 GMT Friday) slot.
The two were meant to have met on stage for their second debate on Thursday in a town hall format where the two candidates would have fielded questions from voters.
Debate organisers said they wanted to switch to a virtual format for safety reasons after Trump contracted the coronavirus, but he refused.
The president, who will be at the Perez Art Museum in Miami for the one-hour show, has 20 days left to overturn dire polling figures to win the November 3 election and secure a second term.
Biden, who had already booked his appearance last week, will be in Philadelphia for his town hall as he tries to secure his front-runner status.
NBC said it had received a statement from the clinical director at the National Institutes of Health, Anthony Fauci, that there was “a high degree of confidence” that Trump is now “not shedding infectious virus.”
Trump and the NBC host will be socially distanced at the outdoor venue and the audience will wear safety masks, NBC added.
Biden has been frequently testing for coronavirus and reporting negative results since Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis on October 1.
The first of three scheduled presidential debates was widely criticised for descending into an angry shouting match as Trump attempted to inflict a late wound to Biden’s campaign.
At a rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Trump accused Biden of “choking like a dog” during the debate, and unleashed a tirade of lurid insults at his challenger, calling him mentally “shot.” “He can’t stand up to the lunatics running his party,” Trump told the large, raucous crowd in Johnstown.
Furthering his long-running narrative that 77-year-old Biden is too frail for the presidency, Trump, 74, tweeted a crudely faked picture purporting to show Biden in a wheelchair.
Washington
Donald Trump and White House challenger Joe Biden will duel for airtime in rival televised town hall events on Thursday night, after their second head-to-head debate was scrapped following the president’s COVID-19 diagnosis.
Trump set up the scheduling clash by organising his own town hall on NBC at the same time as Biden had arranged his event on ABC.
The president, a former reality TV show star and a keen follower of viewing figures, will be seeking to score a victory over Biden by attracting a bigger audience during the primetime 8:00 pm EST (0000 GMT Friday) slot.
The two were meant to have met on stage for their second debate on Thursday in a town hall format where the two candidates would have fielded questions from voters.
Debate organisers said they wanted to switch to a virtual format for safety reasons after Trump contracted the coronavirus, but he refused.
The president, who will be at the Perez Art Museum in Miami for the one-hour show, has 20 days left to overturn dire polling figures to win the November 3 election and secure a second term.
Biden, who had already booked his appearance last week, will be in Philadelphia for his town hall as he tries to secure his front-runner status.
NBC said it had received a statement from the clinical director at the National Institutes of Health, Anthony Fauci, that there was “a high degree of confidence” that Trump is now “not shedding infectious virus.”
Trump and the NBC host will be socially distanced at the outdoor venue and the audience will wear safety masks, NBC added.
Biden has been frequently testing for coronavirus and reporting negative results since Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis on October 1.
The first of three scheduled presidential debates was widely criticised for descending into an angry shouting match as Trump attempted to inflict a late wound to Biden’s campaign.
At a rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Trump accused Biden of “choking like a dog” during the debate, and unleashed a tirade of lurid insults at his challenger, calling him mentally “shot.” “He can’t stand up to the lunatics running his party,” Trump told the large, raucous crowd in Johnstown.
Furthering his long-running narrative that 77-year-old Biden is too frail for the presidency, Trump, 74, tweeted a crudely faked picture purporting to show Biden in a wheelchair.
