COMMISSION ON PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES

The Republican National Committee has accused the Commission on Presidential Debates of being biased toward Democrats, a charge the panel has rejected.

The RNC threatened to change its rules to bar presidential nominees from debates held by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

The Republican National Committee released a letter, saying it is set to require presidential nominees to pledge not participate in debates put on by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

The Republican National Committee says it is planning a rules change that would force presidential candidates seeking the party’s nomination to sign a pledge saying they will not participate in any debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel accused the Commission on Presidential Debates of "repeated missteps and partisan actions."

‘RNC will have no choice but to advise future Republican candidates against participating in CPD-hosted debates’ if no changes are made, RNC chair writes

RNC threatens to tell candidates not to participate in presidential debates

Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel warned the Commission on Presidential Debates Tuesday that the RNC would advise future GOP candidates against participating in CPD-hosted debates unless "significant reforms" are made.Why it matters: McDaniel's letter to the nonpartisan forum follows up on several complaints made by former President Donald Trump last year on perceived issues.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeThese

Thursday’s matchup between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will mark the end of a presidential debate season that has spanned 16 months. Since June 2019, Americans have been asked to watch more than 30 hours of robust discussion spread over 13 Democratic primary events, one presidential debate and one vice presidential debate. The final debate follows weeks of surprise illness, controversy and the Trump campaign’s feuds with both the Biden team and the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates. “The same was true in 2016, when President Trump participated in the CPD debates. “The Trump campaign is lying about that now because Donald Trump is afraid to face more questions about his disastrous COVID response.”What does Trump have to say about Welker?

Right in the middle of that controversy is the Commission on Presidential Debates, a little-known nonprofit that has managed the matchups for decades. The second and final bout between Republican President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden is set for Thursday night in Nashville. Did the Commission on Presidential Debates always run debates? The new, major-party-sponsored Commission on Presidential Debates would serve that role for the next three decades and continues today. But they are, of course, not the only presidential candidates who exist, and they are certainly not the only candidates who win Americans’ votes.

What to know today 🌅14 days until November electionThe November General Election is just two weeks away. ClickOnDetroit has been here every step of the way in 2020, and you can count us for election coverage and results through the end of the year. Eligible Michigan citizens can register online at Michigan.gov/Vote or by mail if it is postmarked by Monday’s date. The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 147,806 as of Monday, including 7,031 deaths, state officials report. According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 3.2 million have recovered in the U.S., with more than 8.1 million cases reported across the country.

The 90-minute debate is divided into six 15-minute segments, with each candidate granted two minutes to deliver uninterrupted remarks before proceeding to an open debate. The open discussion portion of the debate will not feature a mute button, but interruptions by either candidate will count toward their time in the second and final debate Thursday. The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announced the rule changes Monday, three weeks after a chaotic opening faceoff between the two presidential contenders that featured frequent interruptions — most by Trump. The commission has faced pressure from the Trump campaign to avoid changing the rules, while Biden’s team was hoping for a more ordered debate. In a statement, the commission said it “had determined that it is appropriate to adopt measures intended to promote adherence to agreed upon rules and inappropriate to make changes to those rules.”-- The Associated Press

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden will have their microphones cut off in Thursday’s debate while their rival delivers their opening two-minute answer to each of the debate topics. The 90-minute debate is divided into six 15-minute segments, with each candidate granted two minutes to deliver uninterrupted remarks before proceeding to an open debate. The open discussion portion of the debate will not feature a mute button, but interruptions by either candidate will count toward their time in the second and final debate Thursday. The commission has faced pressure from the Trump campaign to avoid changing the rules, while Biden’s team was hoping for a more ordered debate. In a statement, the commission said it “had determined that it is appropriate to adopt measures intended to promote adherence to agreed upon rules and inappropriate to make changes to those rules.”

President Donald Trump wipes his face during a break in an NBC News Town Hall, at Perez Art Museum Miami, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, in Miami. NBC News chief executive Cesar Conde said Thursday that NBC scheduled Trump out of fairness after Biden did a town hall at the same time last Thursday. There were apparently still hard feelings, given that Muir twice mentioned a nameless “another network” holding a Trump town hall. “Has there ever been two more different presidential candidates than Trump or Biden?” asked The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler in a tweet. At a rally in North Carolina on Thursday, Trump called NBC “the worst" and said he was being set up with the town hall.

The second presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden is officially off. The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates confirmed Friday that the Oct. 15 faceoff would be scrapped. The decision was made a day after the commission announced the debate would take place “virtually” because Trump had contracted the coronavirus. Trump balked at holding the debate in that format, and Biden scheduled a town hall with ABC News for that night once Trump said he would not participate. The third debate, scheduled for Oct. 22 in Nashville, Tennessee, is still on.

The Commission on Presidential Debates has canceled next week’s debate between President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden, the Wall Street Journal reports. The cancellation comes after the commission said it was changing the format of the debate, scheduled for Oct. 15, from an in-person town hall in Miami to a virtual session, citing the “health and safety of all involved." The president, who tested positive for coronavirus one week ago, said he would refuse to participate in the virtual debate. Related Content:

WASHINGTON – The second presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden will take place virtually amid the fallout from the president’s diagnosis of COVID-19. The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates debates made the announcement Thursday morning, a week before the two were scheduled to face on in Miami. The candidates will “participate from separate remote locations,” while the participants and moderator remain in Miami, the commission said. Trump was diagnosed with the coronavirus a week ago and said he looked forward to debating Biden on stage in Miami, saying, “It will be great!”Biden, for his part, said he and Trump “shouldn’t have a debate” as long as the president remains COVID positive. Biden told reporters in Pennsylvania that he was “looking forward to being able to debate him” but said “we’re going to have to follow very strict guidelines.”

Trump, who is eager to return to the campaign trail despite uncertainty about his health, said he wouldn’t participate if the debate wasn’t in person. The Oct. 22 debate in Nashville, Tennessee, is scheduled to feature a format similar to the first. Biden’s campaign has suggested that it be modified to the “town meeting” format, though the Trump campaign has not weighed in. As he campaigned in Arizona, Biden said he would indeed attend the Oct. 22 debate. Trump fell ill with the virus on Oct. 1, just 48 hours after sharing a stage with Biden in person during the first presidential debate in Cleveland.

"No I'm not going to waste my time on a virtual debate," he said during an interview Thursday morning on the Fox Business channel. The second of three presidential debates this fall was originally slated to take place in Miami, Florida on Oct. 15. A Biden campaign source told NBC News that the CPD made the decision independently. Following Trump's refusal to do a virtual debate, the Biden campaign proposed that the third and final debate, currently scheduled for Oct. 22, be held as a town-hall debate, instead of just the two men and a moderator. The Biden campaign rejected the idea of adding another debate day, noting that it was Trump, not Biden, who blew up the Oct. 15 debate by refusing to participate under the rules set by the commission.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he's looking forward to next week's debate with former Vice President Joe Biden as scheduled. "I am looking forward to the debate on the evening of Thursday, October 15th in Miami," Trump wrote on his Twitter feed. The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. The virus has killed more than 200,000 in the U.S.Should the debate move forward as planned, both Trump and Biden will answer questions from voters in Miami. A third presidential debate is scheduled for Oct. 22 at Belmont University in Nashville.

A worker hangs a banner as preparations take place for the vice presidential debate outside Kingsbury Hall at the University of Utah, Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, in Salt Lake City. A plexiglass barrier will separate Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris at their vice presidential debate Wednesday, the second such measure taken to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission on the heels of President Donald Trump contracting Covid-19. A fact sheet distributed by the commission said, "Plexiglass will be used as part of the CPD's overall approach to health and safety." Politico first reported that the plexiglass would be used at the vice presidential debate. Over the weekend, Jaime Harrison, the Democratic nominee for the Senate in South Carolina, brought his own plexiglass barrier for his debate with incumbent Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham.

MORRISTOWN, N.J. – President Donald Trump opposes changing the rules for the remaining two presidential debates against Democrat Joe Biden, but his campaign says he will attend regardless. Tuesday's opening debate in Cleveland quickly turned chaotic, with frequent interruptions by the candidates — particularly Trump. On a conference call with reporters, Trump's reelection campaign indicated that Trump would attend the remaining debates regardless of whether the rules are changed. We don’t want any changes.”He declined to issue an ultimatum that Trump would not attend if changes were made. Organizers and both campaigns expect that the format for its next presidential debate on Oct. 15 in Miami will be more orderly, as the candidates address questions asked directly to them by voters.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Commission on Presidential Debates says it’s adding new “tools to maintain order” to the upcoming debates after a chaotic first debate between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Trump’s frequent interruptions of the Democratic presidential nominee defined Tuesday night’s debate, with Biden frequently unable to complete a sentence. Moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News pleaded with Trump several times to allow Biden to speak uninterrupted, to no avail. The nonpartisan commission has organized every general election presidential debate since 1988. In a statement, the commission said the first debate “made clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues.”The commission says it “intends to ensure that additional tools to maintain order are in place for the remaining debates.”And the commission says it’s “carefully considering the changes that it will adopt and will announce those measures shortly.”More coverage:

__10 p.m.Joe Biden says he’s out to cut into Republican margins of victory, even in parts of the country where he probably won’t defeat President Donald Trump. The Commission on Presidential Debates says it's adding new “tools to maintain order” to the upcoming debates after a chaotic first debate between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Trump’s frequent interruptions of the Democratic presidential nominee defined Tuesday night's debate, with Biden frequently unable to complete a sentence. Moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News pleaded with Trump several times to allow Biden to speak uninterrupted, to no avail. Democrat Joe Biden is making stops on a train tour of Ohio and Pennsylvania.

WASHINGTON Representatives from Fox News, C-SPAN and NBC will moderate the upcoming debates between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden. According to the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, the moderators will be:Chris Wallace of Fox News for the debate Sept. 29 in Cleveland. Steve Scully of C-SPAN for the town meeting debate Oct. 15 in Miami. NBCs Kristen Welker for the debate Oct. 22 in Nashville, Tennessee. Trump's team has tried to pressure the commission to move up the debates, citing increased use of early and absentee voting because of the coronavirus.

WASHINGTON The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates has rejected a request from the Trump campaign to either add an additional general election debate or move up the calendar for the contests. In a letter to Trump private attorney Rudy Giuliani, his liaison to the commission, the commission writes that it is committed to its existing schedule of three debates between Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, saying it would consider adding a fourth debate only if both sides agree to it. Giuliani wrote to the debate commission Wednesday requesting that the schedule be moved up on account of expanded early and mail voting because of the coronavirus pandemic. While more people will likely vote by mail in 2020, the debate schedule has been and will be highly publicized, the commission said. The commission wrote that it will adhere to our longstanding procedure of selecting the debate moderators.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. The University of Michigan will no longer host one of the three presidential debates planned for this fall ahead of the 2020 General Election. The Commission on Presidential Debates announced June 23 that the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County in Miami, Florida will host the Oct. 15 debate that had been planned for Crisler Center on U-Ms athletics campus. The CPD said in a release that the University has concluded that it is not feasible to host the presidential debate as planned.It is with great disappointment that I must ask for the University of Michigan to be released from its agreement with the Commission on Presidential Debates to host the Presidential Debate on Oct. 15, 2020, said U-M President Mark Schlissel. The other presidential debates will take place Sept 29 at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, and Oct. 22 at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. The University of Utah in Salt Lake City will host a vice presidential debate Oct. 7.

Donald Trump and Mike Pence should do the same.Any debate proposals in lieu of that are just an effort to change the subject, avoid debates, or create a distracting debate about debates, she added. The seeming acceptance that a vast number of this years votes will be cast by mail marks a change for the campaign. Both Giuliani and Trump have criticized widespread mail voting and claimed without evidence that mail ballots are ripe for fraud. In the Monday letter, OMalley Dillon also pointed out that the Trump campaigns request for more debates marked a shift from December, when advisers were threatening that Trump might skip the debates altogether. The Trump campaign proposal for elaborate negotiations is merely an effort to dodge fair, even-handed debates, OMalley Dillon wrote.