Debate Commission Picks Red States for Trump Versus Biden Showdown

The Presidential Debate Commission announced on Tuesday that President Donald Trump and Joe Biden, the presumptive Democrat nominee, will face off in Indiana, Tennessee, and Florida.

The announcement came shortly after the University of Michigan, which was supposed to host the second presidential debate, pulled out over concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. As of now, the second debate will be held in Miami, Florida, on October 15, following the first debate in Notre Dame, Indiana, on September 29. The third, and final, debate will be hosted in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 22.

First presidential debate: Tuesday, Sept. 29, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN

Second presidential debate: Thursday, Oct. 15, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami, FL

Third presidential debate: Thursday, Oct. 22, Belmont University, Nashville, TN

— Political Polls (@PpollingNumbers) June 23, 2020

Michigan’s decision ensures that all three debates will be in states that Trump won handily in 2016. It is unclear, though, whether the locations will have any impact on the chances of either of the candidates. In the past, when presidential and vice presidential debates have been held in swing states, such as Virginia or Missouri, there has generally been a corresponding boost for the Democrat candidate. Such was the case in 2016 when Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton debated in Paradise, Nevada.

The announcement of the locations also comes one day after Biden informed the commission he would only take part in the customary three debates. Trump, who had initially flirted with the idea of skipping the debates in general, made an aggressive push for more debates, with less formal rules. Trump, in particular, sought to decrease the role of moderators, allowing each candidate more time to discuss their agenda for the nation.

Biden’s campaign manager, Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, claimed that Trump’s attempt to ensure more debates was meant to “distract” voters from his falling poll numbers.

“Our position is straightforward and clear: Joe Biden will accept the Commission’s debates, on the Commission’s dates, under the Commission’s established format and the Commission’s independent choice of moderators,” O’Malley Dillon said in a letter to the commission.