[ad_1]
President Donald Trump, a candidate for a second term, said on Thursday he opposed changing the rules of election debates with his Democratic rival Joe Biden, after a chaotic first verbal duel broadcast on television.
The organizers of the presidential debates in the United States announced Wednesday that an “additional structure” is needed to “ensure a more orderly discussion,” referring to the disaster that occurred the day before in Cleveland (north).
But Trump disagrees.
“Why would I allow the Committee on Debates to change the rules of the second and third debates when I won the last time handily?” He tweeted.
Trump has declared himself the winner multiple times, citing unidentified polls. Instead, polls by US media have suggested otherwise, giving Biden the upper hand in the debate, nearly a month before the November 3 presidential election.
For his part, Biden – who at a heated moment in the debate told Trump “Are you going to shut up?” – assured that he was willing to silence the microphones if that helps the audience, arguing that he considers it “appropriate” that each candidate “has the opportunity to fully answer” the questions posed.
Republicans, Democrats and even the evening’s moderator, Fox News reporter Chris Wallace, agreed almost unanimously that the 90-minute debate was ugly and out of control.
“I never imagined it would go off the rails like that,” Wallace told The New York Times.
The second presidential debate – in which the audience will be able to ask questions – is scheduled for October 15 in Miami (southeast) and the third for October 22 in Nashville (center-east).
Among the possible changes that are discussed to assist moderators is allowing them to turn off a candidate’s microphone, with the intention of preventing interruptions and outbursts. But observers of the debate point out that even so, one candidate could yell at the other.
The Cleveland debate showed Trump and Biden repeatedly interrupting and insulting each other, with the president making the most outrageous and out of line comments.
Trump’s senior adviser Jason Miller told reporters that the White House perceives the bipartisan debate committee as a hostile body, made up of “swamp monsters.”
And Trump’s spokeswoman, Kayleigh McEnany, said the president “does not want rules that cover the inability of a certain candidate to perform well.”
[ad_2]
