White House Pushes to Proceed With the Canceled Presidential Debate

A White House spokesperson called for the canceled face-to-face debate between United States President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to be rescheduled.

This, after the White House physician's statement that President Trump was no longer a risky COVID-19 transmitter.

White House: Trump Ready to Debate

"The President is ready to debate and his doctors have cleared him for participating in public engagements," according to White House deputy communications director Brian Morgenstern regarding the canceled face-off on October 15. "They've said he's no longer a risk for transmission, so it would be nice if the commission would get the debate back on the schedule," reported The Hill.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden were supposedly facing off in three debates. The dates for the debates demanded reconsideration since Trump contracted the novel coronavirus.

Trump's reelection campaign on Sunday reinvigorated its push for a face-to-face debate. However, Biden's campaign and the debate commission appeared to have moved on. The move comes after the president refused last week to partake in a virtual debate.

The White House has proposed to the U.S. debates commission to allow the initially planned debate to proceed. The deputy communications director, in particular, called on the commission.

According to Trump, on Sunday, in a phone call to supporters, he had tested "totally negative" for the coronavirus. He remarked in an audio message, "I'm going to be out in Florida tomorrow, working very hard because this is an election we have to win," reported Fox News.

In a memo, White House physician, Sean Conley, stated that he was "happy to report that in addition to the president meeting the CDC criteria for the safe discontinuation of isolation, this morning's COVID PCR sample demonstrates, by currently recognized standards, he is no longer considered a transmission risk to others."

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Biden's campaign did not immediately provide a comment in response.

Declining to participate in a virtual debate, Trump called the decision "ridiculous" following the Commission on Presidential Debates' announcement of changes.

The Commission on Presidential Debates made it official on Friday that the second debate would not ensue. This leaves the final Trump-Biden showdown on October 22 prior to the November 3 election day.

With the advisory of health advisers, the commission initially made an announcement on Thursday that due to Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis, the second debate that was slated for Miami this week will be held virtually with Trump and Biden designated in remote locations.

When Trump hastily refused to participate, the Republican and Democrat campaigns have scrambled to organize dueling town hall events in order to further reach voters in the presidential election's last phase. Biden is slated to partake in an ABC town hall moderated by George Stephanopoulos on Thursday at 8 p.m.

According to the White House physician, the 74-year-old president had met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) safety regulations for leaving isolation and for no longer being a transmission risk.