Visits: 7
Biden’s deputy campaign manager, Kate Bedingfield, appeared on ABC’s “This Week”
The Biden campaign said Sunday that they are open to moving forward with the upcoming vice presidential and presidential debates despite President Donald Trump‘s positive COVID-19 diagnosis.
In an interview on ABC’s “This Week,” Kate Bedingfield, Joe Biden’s deputy campaign manager, said they believe the debates should move forward as scheduled.
“Obviously that’s going to depend on a lot of factors here, first and foremost, President Trump’s health which we sent him the best and we are hoping for a speedy and full recovery, as everybody in the country,” Bedingfield told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos.
“So our hope is that the debate will go forward on the day that it’s scheduled, but obviously we will be attune to any changes that need to be made,” she continued.
While the next presidential debate is scheduled for Oct. 15, Biden’s running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Vice President Mike Pence are set to face off on Wednesday in their only debate of the election.
Despite Pence’s proximity to the president, Bedingfield said the campaign supports the debate moving ahead with appropriate safety measures.
“We have every expectation that the Debate Commission take all necessary precautions to ensure that everybody who attends the debate is safe. Obviously that includes distancing, that includes a requirement on masks,” Bedingfield said.
“Provided that all of those expectations are met, yes, absolutely. We look forward to any opportunity for Sen. Harris and for Joe Biden to make their case directly to the American people,” she added.
The president’s coronavirus diagnosis comes as the campaign enters the critical final stretch, putting a significant constraint on his ability to campaign, and putting pressure on the Biden campaign to provide more information about the former vice president’s COVID-19 tests.
On Saturday, the Biden campaign announced they will be releasing the results of every COVID-19 test he takes, positive or negative — a significant increase in transparency to their previous testing guidance.
“He’ll be tested today and we’ll make those results available. We are consistently testing,” Bedingfield said.
“As we’ve continued to go forward and make the argument for why Joe Biden should be President of the United States, we’ve taken every precaution, we’re doing it safely and Joe Biden is leading by example and I think that that’s what the American people are looking for.”
While the two men shared the debate stage for more than 90 minutes Tuesday night, the Biden campaign insists that all appropriate safety measures were taken.
“Vice President Biden tested negative twice yesterday and was never in close contact with President Trump or members of his team or family during the debate. When he was not on the debate stage, he wore a mask — which he has called on all Americans to do as a patriotic duty to protect one another,” Bates said Saturday. “Vice President Biden will continue to lead by example as we work together to overcome this pandemic.”
Biden took two COVID-19 tests on Friday morning after Trump revealed that he was positive for COVID-19. Both of Biden’s tests were negative. The former vice president told reporters Saturday evening that he had not been tested thay day for the virus, but would be tested on Sunday.
The campaign is also moving ahead with in-person canvassing, a shift from the largely virtual format the campaign has taken amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Several hundred volunteers hit the ground this weekend for in-person canvassing, according to a senior Biden campaign official. They were in Nevada, Michigan, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania — four key battleground states in the presidential election.
The decision to deploy in-person volunteers in the final month comes as the Trump campaign has been contacting voters in person for months, despite the ongoing pandemic and it follows concerns from some in the Democratic Party about the lack of outreach on the ground in key battleground states.
“We’re now expanding on our strategy in a targeted way that puts the safety of communities first and foremost and helps us mobilize voters who are harder to reach by phone now that we’re in the final stretch and now that Americans are fully dialed-in and ready to make their voices heard,” Jen O’Malley Dillon, Biden’s campaign manager, said of the new effort.
This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates.
