Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders will face off in the first one-on-one Democratic debate on Sunday, after Biden racked up delegates in several significant primary wins, beginning with his decisive South Carolina victory. Sanders announced Wednesday he is remaining in the race and will appear in Sunday’s debate.
The debate was moved from Arizona to Washington, D.C., due to concerns about the coronavirus. There will be no studio audience present. One of the original moderators, Jorge Ramos, bowed out of the debate because he was exposed to someone who had contact with an individual who contracted coronavirus.
How to watch the Democratic debate:
- Date: Sunday, March 15, 2020
- Time: 8 p.m. ET.
- Where: CNN Washington Bureau, Washington, D.C.
- How to watch: The debate will air live on CNN, CNN en Español, CNN International, and Univision
- Live updates: Follow along with live updates on CBSN and at CBSNews.com
Download the free CBS News app for complete coverage of the 2020 presidential race.
The spread of the coronavirus is expected to be a major topic of the debate. On Friday, President Trump declared a national emergency. Earlier this week he announced new restrictions on travelers from Europe during an address to the nation.
In his speech, Biden said he created an advisory council to give him input on how to respond to the crisis. His campaign released a two-pronged plan to address the public health aspect of the virus as well as its economic impact.
“The core principle is simple: public health professionals must be the ones making our public health decisions and communicating with the American people,” Biden said.
Sanders also slammed the “incompetence and recklessness” of Mr. Trump’s response to the crisis, and said the president needed to declare a national emergency. He also urged Congress to move forward “in a bipartisan matter,” as Mr. Trump would not do enough to stop the spread.
“We have a major, major crisis and we must act accordingly. Therefore, it is a absolute moral imperative that our response as a government, as a society, as a business community and as individual citizens meet the enormity of this crisis,” Sanders said.
