The University of Notre Dame has pulled out as the first presidential debate’s host, the second major institution to do so this cycle because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“The inevitable reduction in student attendance in the debate hall, volunteer opportunities and ancillary educational events undermined the primary benefit of hosting — to provide our students with a meaningful opportunity to engage in the American political process,” Notre Dame’s president, the Rev. John Jenkins, said Monday.
He added, “In the end, the constraints the coronavirus pandemic put on the event — as understandable and necessary as they are — have led us to withdraw.”
The Commission on Presidential Debates announced Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Ohio would replace the university as the host of the Sept. 29 debate between President Trump and presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
In June, the University of Michigan backed out of its commitment to host the second debate on Oct. 15. That head-to-head matchup will now take place at Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.
The third debate is still slated to go head at Belmont University, Nashville on Oct. 22, while the vice presidential iteration will be held at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Oct. 7.
