Presidential Debate To Be Moved To Miami After UMich Withdraws Commitment To Host

MIAMI, FL - OCTOBER 5: An aerial shot at the Grand Opeing of the Carnival Center For The Performing Arts on October 5, 2006 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Victor Malafronte/Getty Images)
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The Commission on Presidential Debates announced on Tuesday that the second presidential debate will be held at a performing arts center in Miami, Florida, replacing the University of Michigan which withdrew its commitment to host, citing health concerns.

“This debate was originally scheduled for the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and the University has concluded that it is not feasible to host the presidential debate as planned,” the CPD wrote in the announcement.

University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel said in a letter to the CPD that the “scale and complexity” of the work it is undertaking to assure the health of its students and faculty for a safe fall opening that is expected to resume face-to-face instruction precluded the institution from hosting the debate as planned. In his letter, Schlissel,  who is the first physician-scientist to lead the university, also noted that advice from the university’s own health experts, in addition to state safety guidelines, made a debate at the campus no longer feasible. The Detroit Free Press first reported the school’s decision on Monday.

The Michigan debate would have marked the second time a presidential debate was held in the state; the last was hosted by Michigan State University in 1992.

Now the debate will take place at the Adrienne Arsht Center, a non-profit performing arts organization and venue in Miami. The October 15 debate will mark the second time the CPD has conducted a presidential debate in Miami. The first was held at the University of Miami during the 2004 presidential debates.

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Notable Replies

  1. But DiJiT brought cars back !

  2. Biden should refuse to debate the Dotard. There is nothing to be won for debating him.

  3. Nobody wants this shit in the Age of Covid.

    Miami should bow out now because it won’t be getting any better in their area anytime soon either.

    Wake up, people. This virus is simply not going away in time. They won’t be able to pretend the country can proceed under regular order with debates as is prior to the election, nor should they. Dems need to speak up now to prevent the quandary they’ll soon be finding themselves in. Someone has to be the adult in all this mess.

  4. Happy my alma mater had the good sense to decline hosting one.

    Why are there Presidential debates this year? We do not need ANY debates. None. Nary a one. Either folks want change or not. Real simple. There is no upside to debating an idiotic fool. As the saying goes, within minutes no one knows who is the fool.

    These debates need to be cancelled. I don’t understand why Biden agreed to 3 to begin with. He is not a great debater & besides there is no need to do so.

    Just completely unnecessary.

    Cancel ALL the debates!

  5. I see this as one step towards having the ‘debate’ at Mar-a-Lago with Trump on a raised Presidential Throne and Biden being shouted down and openly laughed at by a hand-selected crowd of Trump cronies.

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