In Tennessee, Final Presidential Debate Puts Surging Virus in Spotlight
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — When President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden arrive in Nashville for their final debate, they’ll be greeted by a city with rising coronavirus case counts.
Tennessee is also embroiled in a debate about mask-wearing.
Thursday’s in-person presidential debate is at Belmont University, which also hosted the 2008 debate between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.
This time, Belmont will require masks and implement testing protocols, and will limit exposure of debate attendees to the school’s student population.
About 150 people are expected in the debate hall, including up to 35 Belmont students working as ushers.
On Monday, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced a change to the final presidential debate stating that Former Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump will have their microphones muted during portions of the debate on Thursday night.
According to CNN, the muting will work like this: At the start of each of the six segments of the debate, each candidate will be given two minutes to answer an initial question. During that portion, the opposing candidate’s microphone will be muted.
The debate will be held Thursday night from 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. CT and topics are expected to include COVID-19, climate change, national security, and race in America.
You can tune in for the final presidential debate on our Fox 21 Facebook page tomorrow night.
