Trump campaign pushes for cancelled debate to go ahead

White House says president ‘ready’ for in-person debate with Joe Biden despite unknowns about Covid-positivity

The White House has called on the US debates commission to allow Donald Trump to debate Joe Biden as planned, despite the president already turning down a virtual proposal.

In a statement on Sunday, White House deputy communications director Brian Morgenstern called on the commission to reconsider the televised debate, CNN reported.

It comes four days after the Commission on Presidential Debates cancelled a second in-person event between Mr Trump and the Democratic presidential nominee, Mr Biden, due to take place on Thursday, over concerns about the president’s coronavirus diagnosis.

A proposed virtual debate between the two candidates was also cancelled after the Trump campaign declined to participate.

Arguing that Mr Trump was able to take part in-person, Mr Morgenstern said on Sunday that "The president is ready to debate and his doctors have cleared him for participating in public engagements,"

"They've said he's no longer a risk for transmission so it would be nice if the commission would get the debate back on the schedule”. Those remarks came after a memo released by the president’s physician, Dr. Sean Conely, declared him to be "no longer considered a transmission risk to others".

Dr Conley said the 74-year-old had met Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) safety standards for leaving isolation and was no longer considered a transmission risk.

He did, however, decline to say when Mr Trump last returned a negative test for Covid-19.

Mr Trump himself insisted on Sunday that he is now "immune" from the virus in an interview, although such claims are impossible to prove at present.

Both the Republican and Democratic candidates have since planned alternative events for Thursday, with Mr Trump expected to hold an in-person rally as he returns to the campaign trail this week.

Mr Biden, meanwhile, is due to take part in a town hall on ABC.