The Commission on Presidential Debates announced Thursday morning that it is refusing to allow an in-person debate format for the second presidential debate, prompting President Donald Trump to decline to participate in its proposed virtual format.
“I’m not going to waste my time doing a virtual debate,” he told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo.
The debate, which is scheduled to take place on Oct. 15, is set to be held in a town hall format. Debate moderator Steve Scully, C-SPAN’s Senior Executive Producer & Political Editor, and the town hall participants will be in Miami, Florida but the Commission is not allowing the presidential candidates to attend in person because of the coronavirus, even though the vice-presidential candidates debated in person last night.
The Biden campaign, however, had said they would still take part in the debate.
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Trump tested positive for the coronavirus last week but has received aggressive treatment and is symptom free. His campaign says he will have had negative tests prior to the October 15th debate.
“President Trump won the first debate despite a terrible and biased moderator in Chris Wallace, and everybody knows it. For the swamp creatures at the Presidential Debate Commission to now rush to Joe Biden’s defense by unilaterally canceling an in-person debate is pathetic,” Bill Stepien, Trump 2020 campaign manager, said in response. ” That’s not what debates are about or how they’re done.”
“Here are the facts: President Trump will have posted multiple negative tests prior to the debate, so there is no need for this unilateral declaration. The safety of all involved can easily be achieved without canceling a chance for voters to see both candidates go head to head. We’ll pass on this sad excuse to bail out Joe Biden and do a rally instead,” he added.
During last night’s vice-presidential debate with Kamala Harris, Vice President Mike Pence was not backing down in any way, shape or form, from his pro-life position against killing babies in abortions.
Pence said, “I’m pro-life. I don’t apologize for it.”
“I couldn’t be more proud to serve as vice president to a president who stands without apology for the sanctity of human life,” he said.
Pence went after Harris and Joe Biden for supporting abortion on demand and taxpayer funded abortions – adding that they support abortions and abortion funding “up until the moment of birth.”
Pence and Trump has a long pro-life record.
Last week, President Trump issued a powerful message about the value of individuals with Down syndrome in America.
October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, and an estimate 250,000 Americans have the chromosomal abnormality. Some go to college, while others own businesses and work as models, actors and artists. Some get married, and many serve as advocates and spokespeople for people with disabilities.
But even more would be alive today if they had not been discriminatorily aborted — something President Trump condemned in his message today.
“As our society progresses toward a more inclusive future, there are still those who pass judgment on which lives are worth living. As President, I denounce radical proposals to terminate pregnancies of unborn children with Down syndrome,” he said. “Our Nation will continue to emphatically affirm the self-evident ideal that all children—born and unborn—are created in the image of God, are worthy of life, and deserve to be loved.”
“Our country must never run astray from the certitude that the lives of those with Down syndrome are precious and full of potential. During Down Syndrome Awareness Month, we are reminded that we must never waver in our efforts to support these individuals so that they can enrich the soul of our Nation with their joy and love,” he added.
President Trump, the first sitting president in United States history to attend and address the annual March for Life in person, has received wide support from pro-life groups across the county.
In one of his first acts as president, Trump reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits taxpayer funding to groups that promote or provide abortions overseas. The change defunded Planned Parenthood’s international arm of about $100 million in U.S. tax dollars.
Trump has repeatedly called out the Democratic Party’s extreme position on abortion. During his State of the Union address Trump slammed the governors of New York and Virginia for promoting abortion up to birth and infanticide. He also called for Congress to pass a ban on late-term abortions on babies who are capable of feeling pain.
Trump and his administration have made a number of changes to protect those who morally object to abortions, expanding conscience protections for medical workers who believe it is wrong to kill an unborn baby and increasing religious exemptions for Obamacare.
His administration also intervened to stop the United Nations from supporting abortion in a resolution about sexual violence. In 2018, under his leadership, the State Department removed references to the so-called “right” to abort an unborn baby from a global human rights report as well.
During his presidency, the administration also finalized a new Title X rule that requires health care entities to completely separate abortion from their taxpayer-funded services. Planned Parenthood, which already has said it will not comply, could lose about $60 million annually through the policy change. However, the abortion group is suing to block the cuts.
Trump has appointed dozens of conservative judges to federal courts as well, including two to the U.S. Supreme Court and he has repeatedly told the UN that he will not promote abortion as a human right.
