Mitch McConnell says the next presidential debate could be held remotely via videoconference after Trump tests positive for COVID-19
- The next presidential debate could be held remotely using videoconferencing software, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said on Friday after President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19.
- Trump said Friday morning that he and the first lady, Melania Trump, have entered quarantine after receiving positive test results. On Thursday, a top Trump aide who was aboard Air Force One with the president tested positive for the virus.
- In a radio interview Friday morning, McConnell floated the possibility of holding the next debate, which is scheduled for October 15, remotely.
- Such an arrangement would pose new challenges for the Commission on Presidential Debates, which was already in the process of rewriting debate rules after Trump repeatedly interrupted Biden and the moderator during last week's debate.
The next time Donald Trump and Joe Biden face off in a presidential debate, it could be over Zoom.
Trump announced Friday morning that he and first lady Melania Trump have entered quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19, the coronavirus disease. Earlier this week, Hope Hicks, a top Trump aide who was aboard Air Force One with the president as recently as Wednesday, tested positive for the virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that anyone who has come in contact with an infected person quarantine for at least 14 days. Trump will be unable to return to the campaign trail during his quarantine, and the minimum window recommended by the CDC would make Trump unlikely to leave quarantine in time for the upcoming Oct. 15 presidential debate.
In the wake of that announcement, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, floated the idea of a remote debate.
"It should go forward. Hopefully the president feels up for it and we can work it out remotely," McConnell said in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt on Friday.
Such an arrangement would pose new challenges for the Commission on Presidential Debates, which was already in the process of changing debate rules after Trump repeatedly interrupted both Biden and moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News during the first presidential debate.
Holding a debate remotely isn't entirely unprecedented — during the 2000 Republican primary, Sen. John McCain debated then-Texas governor George W. Bush remotely after McCain's campaign said travel logistics made it impossible for him to appear at the Los Angeles debate in person.
Meanwhile, other government functions ranging from Congressional hearings to trial courts have been operating remotely using videoconference software like Zoom and WebEx during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Commission on Presidential Debates did not immediately respond to questions about whether a remote debate would be possible. Representatives for the Biden and Trump campaigns did not respond to requests for comment.