Joe Biden Publicly Considers Backing Out of Second Presidential Debate

President Trump and his administration have made it a point to remind the nation that Joe Biden spent much of the coronavirus pandemic campaigning from “his basement”, and the former Vice President has just opened himself up to more of the same criticism going forward.

The “basement” line came into being as Biden avoided public appearances during the height of the COVID-19 crisis here in the United States, opting to appear in both live and post-produced broadcasts from his home in Delaware.  Right wing news sites pounced on the tagline as well, quickly aggregating data that showed a great disparity between the accessibility of Trump and Biden during this time.

Now, as the second presidential debate looms just over a week away, Joe Biden is suggesting that he may not participate.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said Tuesday that the second presidential debate should not be held if President Donald Trump is still infected with coronavirus, but that he would base his participation in the debate upon recommendations from medical experts.

“Well, I think if he still has Covid, we shouldn’t have a debate,” Biden told reporters in Maryland. “I think we’re gonna have to follow very strict guidelines. Too many people have been infected and it’s a very serious problem.”

He continued: “And so I’ll be guided by the guidelines of the Cleveland Clinic, and what the docs say is the right thing to do — if and when he shows up for debate.”

The former vice president also said he looks forward to the debate, which is set to take place next Thursday in Miami.

President Trump’s COVID-19 struggles have been difficult for Americans to follow, with conflicting reports coming from his doctors, the White House Chief of Staff, and administration insiders speaking anonymously to the press.  This has made the probability of the second debate happening a difficult statistic to estimate.