A No-Handshake Presidential Debate

Vanity Fair: “As Covid-19 sweeps the country, the theater of politics is being completely reimagined. When viewers flip on CNN to watch the debate at 8 pm, the contrast to the last debate—seven candidates, four moderators, a raucous audience and no coronavirus—could not be more stark. Against the backdrop of a worldwide pandemic, the debate, originally slated for a live audience in Phoenix, will be shot from a CNN studio in Washington, D.C. that’s been scrupulously sanitized. Only 10 other people will be in the room. Campaign staffers will be relegated to green rooms in the back.”

“In a way, this is a return to television’s roots. This will be the first presidential debate set in a TV studio with no audience since the Kennedy-Nixon debates of 1960. And both candidates have stopped holding public rallies, giving tonight’s event even more importance.”