Biden Will Be at Next Debate as Scheduled, Campaign Official Says

Trump adviser says president doesn't favor remote debates

President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden participate in the first presidential debate at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 29, 2020. Win McNamee-Scott Olson/Getty Images

Democratic nominee Joe Biden will participate in the next debate with President Donald Trump in mid-October as scheduled, according to senior campaign adviser Symone Sanders.

Sanders told CNN on Oct. 4 that the former vice president is “looking forward” to the debate in Miami on Oct. 15.

Her comment came several days after Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19 and was later taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment and observation.

“We are looking forward to the debate on Oct. 15 in Miami,” Sanders said. “It’s a town hall and, as you know, Vice President Biden loves a good town hall. And we are hoping President Trump can participate. We’re hoping that he’s medically able to participate, and that is up to his doctors to clear him. But Joe Biden will be at that debate.”

White House physician Dr. Sean Conley said in an update Oct. 4 that Trump has “continued to improve” and could return to the White House “as early as tomorrow.” The doctor noted that Trump’s oxygen saturation level dropped twice after he was diagnosed with the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Conley’s team said that Trump’s “vital signs are stable,” and he hasn’t complained of shortness of breath. He is still taking the anti-viral drug Remdesivir after completing his second round of the drug on Oct. 3, the team said. While his oxygen level dropped to around “93 percent,” Conley said, that has improved and is now at 98 percent as of midday Oct. 4.

“While not yet out of the woods, the team remains cautiously optimistic,” he said on Oct. 3.

Trump’s senior campaign manager, Jason Miller, told “Meet the Press” on Oct. 4 that the president’s campaign doesn’t favor a remote debate format.

“We’re in a campaign. We have a month to go,“ Miller said. ”We see Joe Biden and Kamala Harris out there campaigning—certainly they’re not asking for a remote debate.”

Miller added that Vice President Mike Pence will remain on the campaign trail.

“I have no concerns at all,” he added. “The vice president takes very serious all of these measures. Anyone around the vice president is tested. People are kept very safe.”

“Again, we can’t hide from this virus forever, Chuck,” Miller added. “We have to take it head-on. We have to reopen our economy. And we’ve got to develop this vaccine and defeat the virus.”

First Lady Melania Trump, Trump 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, White House adviser Hope Hicks, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), former White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also have tested positive for the CCP virus in recent days.

Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Biden’s pick for vice president, are scheduled to debate this week.