Donald Trump waves the white flag

| 5:40 pm EDT October 8, 2020
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Donald Trump is behind by ten points nationwide, his debate was a disaster, the VP debate went poorly for his side, and his scandals are getting worse by the hour. He desperately needs another shot at addressing a national audience to give him any hope of getting back into contention, and his best remaining shots are the final two debates.

When you consider how flagrantly Trump violated the debate rules last time, and the fact that Trump is sick and contagious with a deadly virus, he’s lucky the debate commission is willing to hold virtual debates, instead of just canceling them altogether. But Trump immediately rejected the virtual debate format.

In so doing, Trump is waving the white flag, whether he realizes it or not. If he’s doing this out of spite because he didn’t fully get his way, then he’s waving the white flag on purpose, raising questions about just how severely his mind is unraveling.

If Trump is doing this as a negotiating tactic, then he’s waved the white flag without realizing it. Immediately after Trump announced his refusal to participate, ABC News announced that it would convert the debate into a Joe Biden town hall event. This makes clear that no one involved needs Trump’s participation or cares if he participates. So if he was merely bluffing, he’ll have to go crawling back and do a virtual debate, and he’ll look like a complete fool for having done so.