The debate commission agreed to the Biden campaign’s demands to increase the standing distance between the two candidates during the debate after President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19.
What We Know:
- The debate commission agreed to set Kamala Harris and Mike Pence 23 feet apart during the Vice Presidential debate after the Biden campaign expressed safety concerns regarding the original distance the candidates were at, which was seven feet. At first, the commission denied their request because the 7 feet was beyond the distance required by medical guidelines. But the Biden campaign’s argument was that the guidelines said to increase the distance if in enclosed spaces for longer periods of time, in which the two candidates will be debating for 90 minutes.
- These health concerns stem from the news of President Donald Trump and his wife catching COVID-19 last week. Trump was admitted into the Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland on Friday and was discharged Monday and sent home where he will continue getting treated. Biden campaign officials and those who attended the debate physically all got tested for the virus to ensure they weren’t infected.
- According to Tim Murtaugh, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, they were okay with opening up the space between the candidates and that they were “happy to negotiate”. POLITICO reported that some of the members of the Trump family did not wear a mask while others in the room did. And when a doctor from the Cleveland Clinic offered the family members masks, they declined and there were no further actions.
The vice-presidential debate is between vice president Pence and Sen. Harris of California and will take place at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City on Wednesday. The debate will begin at 9 p.m. and end at 10:30 p.m. The moderator will be Susan Page, Washington Bureau chief for USA Today.
