EASTON, Pa. — Lafayette College won’t be hosting a vice presidential debate after all.
The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) that had selected four sites – three for presidential debates and one for a vice presidential debate, at Lafayette in Easton on Sept. 25 – announced its debates were being called off.
The announcement Monday came three days before President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, are set to debate on CNN Thursday night.
The presidential campaigns arranged for the debate hosted by CNN – and a second one in September by ABC – outside of the nonpartisan commission that had organized presidential debates for the last 35 years or so.
The Commission on Presidential Debates said it was “regrettably” releasing Lafayette College and the three other sites from their contracts.
In May, the Biden campaign informed the commission that it would not agree to a debate under the commission’s sponsorship this election season.
"Lafayette has enjoyed national and international media attention over the last several months as a result of the CPD having chosen the College as its VP debate location."Scott Morse, Lafayette College assistant vice president for communications and marketing
“It is unfair to ask the four campuses to continue to prepare for their debates, as they have been doing since their November 2023 selection,” the commission said in a statement.
“We are grateful to the sites, and we are sorry to come to this decision. We are dismayed that students of the four campuses will not have the opportunity to participate in these historic voter education forums.”
Word of the official cancellation came as a blow to Lafayette, which had been planning for months and celebrated its selection to be in the national spotlight.
In an interview in December, college President Nicole Hurd said hosting a debate would have the same effect as a $50 million marketing campaign for the Easton institution.
The debate would have come just months before College Hill began celebrations for Lafayette's 200th anniversary.
"I think everybody at the table was very excited this would be one way to really amplify Lafayette and participate in what I think is an iconic part of our American democratic process," Hurd told LehighValleyNews.com last year.
In a statement, college spokesman Scott Morse said the commission "regrettably though understandably" decided to cancel.
"Lafayette has enjoyed national and international media attention over the last several months as a result of the CPD having chosen the College as its VP debate location," said Morse, assistant vice president for communications and marketing.
"The College still plans to host a variety of civic and artistic events that were slated to occur on campus around the time of the VP debate. Details on these events will be shared as plans are adjusted and finalized in light of the CPD's decision.
"The College learned a great deal through the nine months of working to prepare for the VP debate event and is well-positioned to host events of considerable scale and complexity in the years to come."
