The University of Notre Dame has withdrawn as the host of the first presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden later this fall, the school announced Monday.
University President Rev. John Jenkins made the announcement Monday, saying that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic would have required numerous changes to the program that would have impacted the “educational value” of hosting the debate.
“This difficult decision (was made) because the necessary health precautions would have greatly diminished the educational value of hosting the debate on our campus,” Jenkins said in a statement. “I am grateful to the many members of the university community who have devoted countless hours planning this event…but in the end, the constraints the coronavirus pandemic put on the event – as understandable and necessary as they are – have led us to withdraw.”
The debate, originally scheduled for Sept. 29 at the school, will instead be held at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, according to the Commission on Presidential Debates.
The remaining two debates are scheduled for Oct. 15 in Miami and Oct. 22 in Nashville. The vice- presidential debate is scheduled to take place on Oct. 7 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
