Biden Says Second Debate Should Be Canceled If Trump Still Has Covid

“I think if he still has COVID, we shouldn’t have a debate,” Biden told reporters during a trip to Gettysburg, Pa., on Tuesday.

Biden spokesperson Kate Bedingfield had previously said Biden would “certainly” be at the debate if the Commission on Presidential Debates takes “all necessary precautions” to ensure safety.

Trump said Tuesday he is “looking forward” to the debate and that it will be “great,” after he tested positive for the virus on Friday and was hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center for treatment over the weekend.

Whether Trump will still be contagious by the time of the debate – 13 days after he tested positive – is an open question: the CDC estimates that patients remain infectious for up to 10 days after the onset of symptoms in mild cases and 20 in severe ones, but while the White House tried to cast Trump’s symptoms as mild, his treatments suggested a more serious case than they let on.

Asked what precautions could be taken to ensure safety at the debate, Biden suggested the plexiglass shields that were negotiated for his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris despite fervent opposition from Vice President Mike Pence’s team.

Biden also said the debate would have to have “very strict guidelines” and, similar to how he says he would manage the pandemic more broadly, stated he would do “what the [doctors] say is the right thing to do.”

“President Trump will be healthy and will be there,” Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh told Forbes, adding, “There’s no getting out of this one for Biden and his protectors in the media can’t cover for him.”