Daily US Times: Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and US President Donald Trump will have their microphones muted for parts of their final debate, which is scheduled on Thursday. The move is taken to allow each candidate a block of uninterrupted time to speak and avoid the rancour of the two candidates’ first encounter.
Changes were necessary after the bad-tempered first debate, the Commission on Presidential Debates said.
Trump repeatedly interrupted Biden during the encounter on September 29, and the debate ended up in name-calling and insults.
The commission said in a statement: “We realize, after discussions with both campaigns, that neither campaign may be totally satisfied with the measures announced today.”
The commission, which is the sponsor of the televised debate in Nashville, said they comfortable that these actions strike the right balance and that they are in the interest of the American people, for whom these debates are held.
For this week’s 90-minute debate, the organisers will give both Trump and Biden two minutes of uninterrupted time at the beginning of each 15-minute segment of the debate. Kristen Welker, NBC News correspondent, will moderate the debate. Microphones will be muted, so that other candidate would not be able to interrupt.
The commission said: “The only candidate whose microphone will be open during these two-minute periods is the candidate who has the floor under the rules,”
Trump’s campaign objected to the change, but also confirmed that he would still take part.
Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien said the President is committed to debating Joe Biden regardless of last-minute rule changes from the biased commission in their latest attempt to provide advantage to their favoured candidate.
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