Organizers to mute Trump, Biden mics during parts of final debate
Washington DC, Oct 19 (efe-epa).- The microphones of United States President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, will be muted during parts of the next televised debate to be held later this week, the country’s debate commission announced Monday.
The decision comes after the first and only debate so far between Trump and Biden held in late September, which resulted in chaos and multiple interruptions, especially by the president.
The event was much talked about due to Trump constantly speaking over top of Biden, leading the Democrat to lose his patience at one point and ask the president: “Will you shut up, man?”
The next and final debate, which will take place in Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday, will run for 90 minutes and will be divided into six segments of 15 minutes each.
Both Trump and Biden will have two minutes of uninterrupted time to speak at the beginning of each segment.
It will be during this portion that the opposing candidate’s microphone will be muted to ensure there are no interruptions.
“Both campaigns this week again reaffirmed their agreement to the two-minute, uninterrupted rule,” the Commission on Presidential Debates said in a statement.
“The Commission is announcing today that in order to enforce this agreed upon rule, the only candidate whose microphone will be open during these two-minute periods is the candidate who has the floor under the rules,” the body added.
“For the balance of each segment, which by design is intended to be dedicated to open discussion, both candidates’ microphones will be open.”
“During the times dedicated for open discussion, it is the hope of the Commission that the candidates will be respectful of each other’s time” despite having the opportunity to challenge or interrupt, the CPD said.
“We realize, after discussions with both campaigns, that neither campaign may be totally satisfied with the measures announced today. One may think they go too far, and one may think they do not go far enough. We are 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,” the statement added. EFE-EPA
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