Aide says Trump campaign doesn’t want remote debates

An aide to President Trump’s campaign said on Sunday that it doesn’t want remote vice presidential or presidential debates in the midst of Trump’s positive COVID-19 test. 

NBC’s “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd questioned Trump’s senior campaign adviser Jason Miller about whether the campaign should push for a remote vice presidential debate in the wake of Trump and several advisers testing positive for COVID-19. 

The vice presidential debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s running mate, is scheduled for Wednesday.

“Shouldn’t he be mitigating risk of getting this virus? Shouldn’t you guys be asking for a remote debate, for instance?” Todd asked.

“No,” Miller responded. “We’re in a campaign. We have a month to go. We see Joe Biden and Kamala Harris out there campaigning — certainly, they’re not asking for a remote debate.”

Miller continued by saying Pence will remain on the campaign trail, with a “very full, aggressive schedule,” after he and his wife tested negative for COVID-19.

“I have no concerns at all,” he added. “The vice president takes very serious all of these measures. Anyone around the vice president are tested. People are kept very safe.”

“Again, we can’t hide from this virus forever, Chuck,” Miller added. “We have to take it head on. We have to reopen our economy. And we’ve got to develop this vaccine and defeat the virus.” 

The campaign adviser also said the president’s family, including Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump will hit the campaign trail initially virtually. 

Biden’s deputy campaign manager, Kate Bedingfield, told ABC News’s “This Week” that the former vice president will “be there” for the Oct. 15 debate in Miami as long as Trump is able to debate and the Commission on Presidential Debates implements the “necessary” safety precautions.  

She also said the campaign has “every expectation” that the commission will “take all necessary precautions to ensure that everybody who attends” the vice presidential debate “is safe,” adding that the precautions should include social distancing and a mask requirement.