Next scheduled presidential debate between Trump and Biden has been canceled

• The next presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden was scrapped, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced in a Friday statement.
• The organizing group canceled the upcoming debate scheduled for October 15, which was changed from an in-person event to a virtual meeting.
• The decision was made after Trump and several other people in the White House tested positive for COVID-19 last week.
• The president said he would not participate in a virtual event and asked that it be in person, but the commission denied the request.

The next presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has been scrapped, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced in a Friday statement.

The Commission on Presidential Debates canceled the upcoming debate scheduled for October 15, which was changed from an in-person event to a virtual meeting after Trump and several other people in the White House tested positive for COVID-19 last week.

"It is now apparent there will be no debate on October 15, and the CPD will turn its attention to preparations for the final presidential debate scheduled for October 22," the commission said in a statement.

"Subject to health security considerations, and in accordance with all required testing, masking, social distancing and other protocols, the debate will take place at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee," the statement continued.

Earlier this week, the president said he would not participate in a virtual event and asked that it be in person, but the commission denied the request. The two campaigns have sparred over the format of the upcoming debate since the commission announced the shift to a virtual event on Thursday.

The Trump campaign went on to book several events in the coming weeks, though the president has yet to release a negative COVID-19 test since his diagnosis last week. White House physician Sean Conley issued a statement Thursday evening, saying that Trump would be able to host public events again by this weekend.

The Biden campaign agreed to the virtual format, but after Trump said he would not participate, the campaign booked a town hall with ABC News the same day as the proposed virtual debate, CNN reported.

Another debate, which would have been the third meetup between the candidates, is still set for October 22 in Nashville, The Washington Post reported. According to The Post report, the Trump campaign requested scheduling an additional debate for October 29, which has not been approved by the commission.

—Kayla Tausche (@kaylatausche) October 9, 2020