On 27 July, the University of Notre Dame, the initial venue for the first US presidential debate, announced in a statement its withdrawal as host site for the first 2020 presidential debate, saying the decision was made “because the necessary health precautions would have greatly diminished the educational value of hosting the debate on our campus.”
Following the University of Notre Dame's announcement, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) said in a statement that the first debate in the run-up to the November US presidential election would be held on 29 September in Cleveland, Ohio.
"CPD is pleased to announce that the first presidential debate will be co-hosted by Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic and held at the Health Education Campus (HEC) in Cleveland, OH," the commission said, listing 29 September as the date for the event.
The CPD said the second debate between Trump and Biden will be on 15 October at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida, while the third would be 22 October at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.
There will also be a vice presidential debate on 7 October at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City between current Vice-President Mike Pence and his Democratic challenger for the post, yet to be announced by Biden.
All debates will be 90 minutes and will run from 9:00 to 10:30 p.m. ET without commercials, and be broadcast live by White House pool networks, the statement said.
Republican President Donald Trump is set to face Democratic challenger and former US Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 US Presidential election on 3 November.