After the first presidential debate was so criticized that organizers introduced a silence button, Thursday’s second and final debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden was much more civilized.
Whether it was because of that button or the dire criticism, especially for Trump, candidates were interrupted much less frequently, even when clashed on issues ranging from the coronavirus to crime to global warming.
While Trump and Biden responded to each other’s responses, shaking their heads disapprovingly or smiling, in Biden’s case, the two largely avoided talking about each other. And neither of them tried to speak at length while being silent during the opening questions.
Trump, in particular, was on his best behavior, especially at the beginning, and especially when it came to the moderator, whom he had attacked repeatedly before the debate.
“So far, I really respect the way he’s handling this,” Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker when she gave him time to respond to Biden at one point.
Due to the pandemic, only about 200 people were sitting inside the debating hall at Nashville’s huge university stadium. That included a representative from the Presidential Debate Commission, who was tasked with ensuring that each candidate had a full two minutes of uninterrupted time to deliver opening responses on six main topics, according to debating committee chair Frank Fahrenkopf.
A member of each of the Trump and Biden campaigns monitored the person controlling the mute button backstage, Fahrenkopf told The Associated Press, noting that the button would not be used beyond the first four minutes of each. theme.
The button was one of the few changes implemented by the nonpartisan debate commission to help ensure a more orderly debate after the raucous and widely criticized opening debate 23 days ago. Coronavirus restrictions also remained in place, with attendees forced to wear masks at all times and audience members estranged.
Organizers had initially planned to separate the candidates with plexiglass barriers, but the barrier was removed hours before the debate began. A Trump campaign official said the decision was made after White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows called Anthony Fauci, the country’s most respected infectious disease expert, during a tour of the site. .
Meadows put Fauci on speakerphone and Fauci told those in the room that all a barrier would do was provide a false sense of security, the person said.
Trump was diagnosed with Covid-19 two days after the last debate, and he and the White House have declined to say whether he complied with commission rules and tested negative for the virus before that debate.
This time, Trump was tested aboard Air Force One en route to Nashville on Thursday and tested negative, according to Meadows. The Biden campaign reported that it also tested negative.
The debating committee also tightened its rules on masks, with organizers saying that any audience member who refused to wear one would be removed. Last month, several members of the Trump family removed their masks while sitting in the debating room, but were allowed to stay. This time, First Lady Melania Trump, appearing in public for the first time since her own coronavirus diagnosis, as well as other members of the Trump family were seen occasionally wearing masks.
Before the debate began, Fahrenkopf repeated the instruction to the small audience.
“If he doesn’t leave, he will be escorted,” he said.
Fahrenkopf had said in an earlier interview that security measures would help reduce the risk of infection.
“The attitude of the Trump campaign was that the president was no longer infectious, but we are going to go to our medical advisers,” he said.
As a result, the president of Belmont University, where the event was held, called it “the safest place in America tonight.”
The university, a quaint institution of more than 8,200 students just a mile from Nashville’s Music Row, also hosted a town hall-style debate between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain in 2008.
This time there was a much smaller audience.
Only about 200 people were allowed in – a mix of campaign guests and the debating committee, students, the committee’s production team, safety and health and safety personnel. Members of the audience were seated in accordance with the social distancing recommendations; several empty seats separated each person or small group.
All audience members and support staff were required to undergo coronavirus testing on site and wear colored wristbands as evidence of their negative tests.
Before the event, dozens of protesters gathered outside the campus beyond the security perimeter. One of them held a large white sign: “220,000 DEAD … Trump FAILED US.”
.
