Donald Trump, Joe Biden to hold competing town halls Thursday instead of a debate

Their face-to-face debate canceled, President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden will instead hold dueling town halls Thursday on competing television networks.

NBC announced Wednesday it will host a Trump town hall at 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday – the same time at which ABC will be hosting a similar event with Biden in Philadelphia.

The Trump event will be in Miami, which was supposed to be the site of a second debate between the two candidates. That showdown was canceled after Trump refused to participate once it was moved to a virtual format because of his COVID-19 diagnosis.

The Commission on Presidential Debates, which sponsored the first Trump-Biden debate on Sept. 29 in Cleveland, called for the second contest to be virtual because of the threat of contagion from Trump. After Trump rejected the idea, the parties were unable to agree on an alternate format.

The debate also fell apart at a time when Trump began trailing Biden in some polls by double digits, and as the Democratic challenger builds leads in key states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Now Trump will meet with "a group of Florida voters on critical issues impacting their vote less than three weeks before Election Day," NBC said in announcing its Miami town hall as a debate replacement.

Coming just two weeks after Trump tested positive for COVID-19, the event "will take place outdoors at the Pérez Art Museum Miami in accordance with guidelines set forth by health officials and consistent with all government regulations," NBC said.