Is anyone surprised that Trump bailed out of the second debate, ostensibly because it is virtual?

Ha! I would hope that they still have it. Ask the question, let Biden answer, then show the empty screen for a few seconds during 45’s turn. Next question, empty screen for a couple of seconds, the Biden answering.
A pretty good metaphor illustrating 45’s participation in the public issues of the day.

@canidmajor – makes sense to me. Of course, whiny boy will be tweeting as well.

I’ll be very glad if there are no more Presidential debates this election. They are a shitshow.

Here is a statement from drumpf’s campaign

While I don’t watch the debates because they’re theater, it’s clear that if one party unilaterally drops out, the event should happen without them. The “debate” should still happen, as @canidmajor suggests.

I wouldn’t accept that either. Joe Biden has a history of having people coaching him and writing answers on the teleprompter during “live” virtual question/answer periods. Joe Biden wants to be POTUS. If he can’t do that without help from a teleprompter, I really don’t think he is the right person for the job.

He would have found it difficult to intimidate, bully, and interrupt Biden online.

@seawulf575

That’s certainly one way to spin Trump’s cowardice.

I’m not at all surprised. Just like wearing a mask, agreeing to a virtual debate means acquiescing to the truth that an in-person debate is unsafe because of the pandemic and Trump’s own contagion. That’s a truth that he continues to deny or defy, so he can’t agree to it.

I just think it’s kind of a shame that this virus doesn’t come with red spots.

Wouldn’t the world be a different place right now if it did?

Bottom line is that an in-person debate gave Trump more opportunity to bully and harangue with no consequences.

A virtual debate means that someone can shut off his camera and microphone, thereby neutering him. (Neutering Trump – what a fine idea!)

@Darth_Algar and you know it is cowardice because….?

^ It’s pretty clear.

@hmmmmmm wow! I’m impressed! you know how to use a dictionary! However your answer doesn’t show anything is clear except you can’t make logic ties when you think.

It’s cowardice because everybody says it is.

I’m not surprised. He wants out of it, and now he can blame it on not wanting to do it virtually. What is the date of the next debate? He might have been clear of the virus. Democrats seem so sure he would be infectious, but I’m not so sure. It would be ten days by then since he started feeling symptomatic. Not worth risking it obviously.

Even if it’s a live show can’t someone not put the camera on him or turn off his mic?

He doesn’t want to participate in a debate where he can’t incessantly disrupt, bully and show his ass throughout the entire thing.

I didn’t hear he actually bailed, he did say he didn’t want a virtual one because people could mute his mic when he was hogging his opponents time.

To his right base you don’t think he was being totally irresponsible wanting to do it in person even though he is infected with Covid 19?

@kritiper Everyone used to say the Earth was flat…did that make it so?

@SQUEEKY2 I just saw that they agreed to move it back a few days. At that point he will no longer be contagious. But there’s another angle to your question. You ask if it is irresponsible to do the debate when he is infected. But really, couldn’t either candidate, or the moderator, or any of the assistants, or the film crew, or the audience be infected and not know it? Unless you are suggesting we should all just cower and do nothing because “someone might get Covid”. That brings about a whole other line of discussion.

It’s not like we’re going to miss much.

Trump and Biden are complete embarrasments and jokes in their own way. From a population of 330 million people, you’ve found two of the most unsuitable candidates imaginable.

Good grief @seawulf you are really stretching it, sure those people MIGHT be infected,BUT TRUMP is infected and knows and apparently does not care about the safety of others while he has it.
Oh yeah and you never deflect,not you sheesh!

@SQUEEKY2 I’m not deflecting at all. I don’t see the fear you do. At some point, if you get the disease, you hit a point where you are no longer infectious. With the POTUS, that will be long before they meet again for a debate. But you seem to believe that only President Trump could possibly infect someone. So really, you believe we should all just hide in a hole because gasp someone might be contagious.

Ok lets be civil,until the Don Father tests negative for Covid19 it should be assumed he is contagious, and should isolate until then anything else would be deemed irresponsable, do you not agree, or do you have some kind Rep/con spin to put on that as well?

@SQUEEKY2 I’m in agreement. But he is already very much improved and has been given permission from his doctors to go back to the WH. He is still under medical care, but by October 22, it will be almost 3 weeks since he first tested positive. That is well past the point of being contagious.
As for the virtual debate, I wouldn’t go there either. Joe Biden has a history of using a teleprompter to answer questions during virtual live events. Here’s the thing…he is running for the office of POTUS. He shouldn’t depend on someone typing answers to questions for him on a teleprompter. What does that look like if he has to deal with foreign leaders? So putting him in a situation where he can effectively have someone else give answers for him is bogus. Let him debate in reality instead of virtually.
And I would hope Trump learned from his first debate. Had he actually shut up, we could have all seen Biden crash and burn or watched the moderator have to step in to bail him out.