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The U.S. presidential debating committee announced Monday that it will mute the microphones of President Donald Trump and his rival, Democrat Joe Biden, when they are not answering questions during Thursday’s final debate to avoid interruptions that disrupted their last meeting.
Each candidate will have two minutes to answer the questions of the moderator, during which time the other’s microphone will be off.
Once you have both used up your two minutes, there will be an open discussion in which neither of the microphones will disconnect.
“The hope of the commission is that the candidates will be respectful of each other’s time, which will encourage a civilized discourse for the benefit of the audience,” the body said in a statement.
But Trump’s campaign boss Bill Stepien reacted angrily to the announcement.
“President Trump is committed to debating Joe Biden regardless of the last minute changes coming from a biased commission, in his last attempt to give advantage to his favorite candidate,” he said in a note.
Stepien said Trump planned to raise a series of allegations against Hunter, Joe Biden’s son, all without legal basis so far. The Republican magnate’s efforts to prosecute these suspicions in Ukraine led to his impeachment in the House of Representatives earlier this year.
“If the media doesn’t ask Joe Biden these questions, the president will and there will be no escape for him,” Stepien added.
In the last debate, in September, Trump interrupted Biden 71 times, while the former Democratic vice president did the same on 22, the Axios news page reported.
The two candidates were supposed to have a debate last Thursday, but the commission changed the rules to allow it to be in virtual format after the president tested positive for coronavirus. Trump then decided not to attend and the two participated in simultaneous television broadcasts on opposite networks.
Thursday’s debate will be the last time the two rivals meet before the November 3 election.
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