First presidential debate moved from Indiana to Cleveland over pandemic concerns

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The Commission on Presidential Debates announced on Monday that the first presidential debate for the 2020 election has been moved to Cleveland over concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
• The debate on Sept. 29 was originally scheduled to be hosted by the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.
• The second debate set for Oct. 15 will now be held in Miami after the University of Michigan announced that it was pulling out from hosting.

The 2020 election’s first presidential debate will now be held in Cleveland after the University of Notre Dame in Indiana pulled out from its hosting responsibilities due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will now be held at the Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic. It is scheduled for Sept. 29 at the Samson Pavilion on the university’s Health Education Campus.

On Monday, the president of Notre Dame, Rev. John I. Jenkins, said that the university was withdrawing as the host, citing the health precautions the school would have to take “would have greatly diminished the educational value of hosting the debate on our campus.”

In a statement, the reverend said: “The inevitable reduction in student attendance in the debate hall, volunteer opportunities and ancillary educational events undermined the primary benefit of hosting — to provide our students with a meaningful opportunity to engage in the American political process.”

“In the end, the constraints the coronavirus pandemic put on the event — as understandable and necessary as they are — have led us to withdraw,” Rev. Jenkins added.

The reverend also said that the decision was made after he consulted with St. Joseph County deputy health officer Dr. Mark Fox. The decision has the unanimous support of the university’s board of trustees’ executive committee, according to a news update from the university.

The second presidential debate was also moved to a new location after the University of Michigan dropped out as host in June. It is scheduled to take place on Oct. 15. The second debate will now be held at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami.

Source: AOL