Donald Trump has said he will not take part in the second US presidential debate after the independent commission that sets debate rules announced it would be held remotely because of coronavirus concerns.

“I'm not gonna waste my time on a virtual debate,” the US president said in an interview with Fox Business Network on Thursday morning.

Despite his recent coronavirus diagnosis, which forced him to spend three nights in a military hospital in Maryland, Mr Trump had said he still wanted to attend next week’s debate in person in Florida, as originally planned.

Joe Biden, his Democratic challenger, has said that if Mr Trump was still infected with coronavirus, the debate should not happen in person.

In its statement on Thursday morning, the commission on presidential debates said the second debate would be held remotely “in order to protect the health and safety of all involved”. The moderator of the debate would still be in Miami and the format would remain a town-hall meeting.

Mr Trump said he would not do it. “That’s not what debating is all about, you sit behind a computer and do a debate, it’s ridiculous,” he said. “And then they cut you off whenever they want.”