“There are understandable reasons why Trump would want to opt out of a virtual debate. The format itself – with the two candidates in competing boxes on screen, socially distanced from one another – will be a reminder of his administration’s failure to contain the coronavirus. There are also some precedents for Trump tangling with debate sponsors. He boycotted one GOP primary debate in January 2016, citing his disdain for moderator Megyn Kelly. But at that time, Trump was the party’s frontrunner and didn’t necessarily need to debate. The current context is very different. Trump is clearly lagging behind Biden in both national and battleground state polls, which means he needs the debate platform more than Biden does. And his obsession with popularity, as measured by TV ratings, is the stuff of legend. After last week’s debate, he tweeted, ‘HIGHEST CABLE TELEVISION RATINGS OF ALL TIME.’ That wasn’t technically true, but it was in line with his narrative. So there are ample reasons to be skeptical of his no-debate claims now” – Brian Stelter.