Trump calls for two in-person debates with Biden before election

US President Donald Trump wants two face-to-face debates with challenger Joe Biden, his campaign said Thursday, nixing a proposed virtual encounter but calling for a final showdown just five days before election day.

The second debate, scheduled as a town hall-styled event, was set for October 15 but that timeline is now likely to be scrapped after Trump, who is recovering from Covid-19, rejected the change to a virtual format.

An in-person town hall debate, with questions from voters, "should happen on October 22, and accordingly, the third debate should then be shifted back one week to October 29," just days from the November 3 vote, Trump 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien said in a statement.