US President Donald Trump said he will skip next week’s debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden if its not in-person, saying he’ll instead hold live rallies as polls show him headed for a possible defeat.

Trump’s comments on Thursday came moments after the Commission on Presidential Debates said that the October 15 town hall-style forum in Miami — the second of three presidential debates — would be conducted virtually as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus. Trump said the panel was trying to protect Biden by cancelling the in-person debate.

“No I’m not going to waste my time on a virtual debate,” Trump said in a telephone interview with Fox Business . “That’s not what debating is about.”

Covid impact

Trump and several of his aides are recovering from Covid-19, after regularly holding events and meetings without masks or social distancing.

The first presidential debate, marked by Trump constantly interrupting and cross-talking over Biden, cost Trump voter support in polls afterward, particularly among female voters.

Biden, speaking to reporters, said he’d follow the commission’s recommendations but that the fate of the debate remains unclear.

“We don’t know what the President’s going to do. He changes his mind every second,” Biden said. “If he goes off and has a rally, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

Both campaigns said the commission acted without consulting them. Trump’s withdrawal comes as polls continue to show Biden with a lead nationally and in the key states he needs for an Electoral College victory.

Trump said he doesn’t believe the polls, citing boat and truck parades by his supporters as signs of enthusiasm.

White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow, speaking to Fox News , said he thinks the commission might reconsider its decision.

“I think you’re going to see a renegotiation of that,” he said, adding that he hopes Trump will do the debate. “I do. And I want him on message and I want him to show the differences between the two teams as Mike Pence did brilliantly yesterday.”

Trump has repeatedly sown doubt in the election process, and Vice-President Mike Pence declined to say Wednesday, during his only debate with Kamala Harris, what he personally would do if Trump doesn’t accept the results of the election.

The news of the presidential debate change overshadowed the vice presidential face-off.

The presidential debate decision was made in order to protect the health and safety of all involved, the commission said in a statement. The second presidential debate will take the form of a town meeting, in which the candidates would participate from separate remote locations.

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