Debate commission adds mute button for presidential debate

The Associated Press

4 years ago

President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden pa ... — President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden participate in the first presidential debate Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland. Moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News speaks as well. (Olivier Douliery/Pool vi AP)

President Donald Trump, left, and Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, right, during the first presidential debate Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio. Seated in the center is moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

FILE – In this Sept. 29, 2020, file photo President Donald Trump, left, and Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, right, participate in the first presidential debate with moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News, center, Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio. Even before Trump’s hospitalization, Republicans were growing increasingly concerned about the direction of the election. Trump’s allies were particularly worried that his troubling debate performance on Tuesday might further alienate key groups of swing voters: women and college-educated voters, among them. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

FILE – In this Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020 file photo, President Donald Trump, left, and Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, right, with moderator Chris Wallace, center, of Fox News participate in the first presidential debate of the 2020 election at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio. On Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly asserting that video footage and photos from the presidential debate show that Biden was wearing a wire. Biden’s campaign confirmed to The Associated Press that the Democratic presidential candidate wore his late son Beau’s rosary beads on his wrist last night at the debate. Another supposed wire location was a crease in his shirt. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump plans to attend Thursday’s debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden despite rule changes — opposed by his campaign — that are meant to foster more ordered discussions.

Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien says Trump “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 favored candidate.”

The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announced Monday that the second and final debate between the two candidates will have each nominee muted while the other delivers his two-minute remarks at the outset of each of the six debate topics. The remainder of each 15-minute block will be open discussion, without any muting, the commission said.

The move is meant to prevent a repeat of the inaugural debate three weeks ago when the two candidates, but mostly Trump, interrupted each other repeatedly.

The Biden campaign did not immediately comment on the new rule.

The commission has faced pressure from the Trump campaign to avoid changing the rules, while Biden’s team was hoping for a more ordered debate. In a statement, the commission said it “had determined that it is appropriate to adopt measures intended to promote adherence to agreed upon rules and inappropriate to make changes to those rules.”