Who is Steve Scully? The moderator for the second US presidential debate

Journalist Steve Scully is in line to moderate the next US presidential election debate between White House occupant Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

The debate is due to take place in Miami on October 15 but is now mired in doubt after Mr Trump on Thursday vowed not to participate, on account of it being changed to a virtual-only event because of the president’s Covid-19 infection.

“I’m not going to do a virtual debate," Mr Trump told Fox News just moments after the Commission on Presidential Debates announced the debate will take place virtually due to Mr Trump’s diagnosis.

That cast serious doubts on whether the event will go forward, even as Mr Biden’s campaign vowed that its candidate will participate.

“Vice President Biden looks forward to speaking directly to the American people,” deputy Biden campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said in a statement.

Amid the uncertainty, here's what you need to know about the event's host.

Born in 1960, Mr Scully was raised by parents Hubert and Elizabeth in Erie, Pennsylvania.

He went on to study communication and political science at the American University in Washington, D.C. before later completing a Master of Science degree in journalism from Nothwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, graduating in 1984.

During the course of his studies, Mr Scully worked as a mailroom intern for Mr Biden from September-October 1978. Mr Biden was Senator for the US state of Delaware at the time.

But Mr Scully quickly opted to pursue a career in journalism instead of politics, taking up a position in the early 1980s as a weekend newscaster on WAMU, the American University-based radio station.

He then worked as a reporter and anchor for Erie's WSEE-TV in 1982 and 1983, returning to the station in 1984 after completing his Master of Science degree.

This was followed by stints as a correspondent for WHBF-TV in Rock Island, Illinois, and later WHEC-TV in Rochester, New York.

At the turn of the decade, Mr Scully took up a new position with C-Span, joining the television network as political editor and White House producer.

He has remained at the network ever since and currently works as a producer, correspondent, and host for one of its morning programmes, Washington Journal. Mr Scully is also in charge of C-Span's White House coverage.

His illustrious media career has also seen him serve on the Executive Board of the White House Correspondents' Association, where he was the president of the association from 2006 until 2007, and picked out as a backup moderator for the 2016 presidential debates featuring Mr Trump and his then-rival for the White House Hillary Clinton.

The debate moderators are selected by the non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD).