Joe Biden to participate in prime-time town hall event on Oct. 15 in lieu of debate

Joseph R. Biden will participate in a prime-time town hall event hosted by ABC News on Oct. 15, the network announced on Thursday.

The event in Philadelphia is on the same night that the second presidential debate was supposed to take place in Miami.

President Trump said earlier in the day that he’s not going to participate in a virtual event with Mr. Biden.

The Commission on Presidential Debates had said minutes earlier that Mr. Trump, who recently left the hospital after testing positive for the coronavirus, and Mr. Biden would be participating in the Oct. 15 debate remotely to protect the health and safety of the event’s organizers and participants.

If the schedule holds, Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden might square off only one more time, if that, after their first in-person debate on Sept. 29.

Both campaigns said they’re open to participating in a debate on Oct. 22, but the Biden campaign said that should be the final debate date. The third debate had previously been scheduled for Oct. 22.

Mr. Trump’s team suggested moving the next two debates to Oct. 22 and Oct. 29.