The Commission on Presidential Debates has released the topics for the last presidential debate between President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. A few of the themes are no brainers, such as COVID-19, National Security, and Race in the wake of the police-involved killing of George Floyd and the resulting riots and protests. But see the addition of "American Families" and "Leadership."
The contest will be moderated by NBC reporter Kristin Welker.
NEW: Kristen Welker, moderator of the Oct. 22 presidential debate at @BelmontUniv, has selected topics: Fighting COVID-19, American Families, Race in America, Climate Change, National Security, Leadership #Debates2020 https://t.co/kFWvRzIljv
— CPD (@debates) October 16, 2020
The entire debate season for Trump and Biden has been riddled with controversy so far. Their first debate was more of a shouting match, leading the CPD to make a few changes to give the moderators more control. And their second scheduled debate was canceled by the CPD because they were not convinced that President Trump, having just recovered from COVID, wouldn't be putting everyone at risk. The Trump campaign had plenty to say about that decision, concluding that the CPD were full of Democratic hacks who were worried after Vice President Mike Pence so easily defeated Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) in their debate the night before.
The moderator who was supposed to oversee the second presidential debate, C-Span anchor Steve Scully, found himself in hot water after he tweeted at Anthony Scaramucci to ask whether he should respond to President Trump's criticisms. Scully then asserted that his Twitter account had been hacked. But that turned out to be a lie (shocker) and he was suspended by C-Span.
I want to thank the CPD @debates for the honor of moderating next Thursday's now cancelled #PresidentialDebate2020 town hall meeting in Miami @cspan And I want to wish @KristenWelkerNBC the very best of luck on October 22nd. Debates are a vital part of America's democracy.
— Steve Scully (@SteveScully) October 10, 2020
Trump and Biden go head-to-head for the last time next Thursday, Oct. 22, at Belmont University in Nashville, TN.
