No Audience at Biden-Sanders Debate Due to Coronavirus

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and former Vice President Joe Biden at the Democratic presidential primary debate in Charleston, South Carolina on February 25, 2020.Win McNamee/Getty Images

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The Democratic debate on Sunday won’t just feature fewer candidates than before, it will also be without an audience. To limit the spread of the coronavirus, the Democratic National Committee and CNN announced Tuesday that the upcoming debate on Sunday between Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden will no longer have a live audience, nor will reporters meet with campaign representatives after the debate in what is referred to as the spin room, nor a designated area for reporters to file stories.

Both Sanders and Biden canceled rallies in Cleveland on Tuesday over growing fears about the coronavirus.

But President Donald Trump seems to be throwing caution to the wind. On Tuesday, his campaign announced it would hold a rally in Milwaukee on March 19.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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