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After the chaotic first televised duel between the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden, the rules for their next meeting will be adjusted.
In part, one candidate’s microphone must be muted while the other speaks, as announced by the responsible independent commission. This is intended to reduce mutual interruptions between the candidates in the debate.
Republican Trump again accused the Fox News commission of siding with Biden. But he announced that he would participate in the debate.
As usual, Trump and Biden can each comment for two minutes on each new topic. However, now only the microphone of the candidate to whom the moderator gives the floor will be activated.
About 15 minutes of conversation are planned for each topic; therefore, for most of the television match, both microphones will remain on to ensure the exchange of ideas, as explained by the commission.
Candidates are expected to respect the speaking hours of their counterparts “to promote a civil exchange for the benefit of the audience,” he said. Both candidates must have approximately the same speaking time in total. If a candidate loses time due to interruptions, they will be credited for that additional time, according to the press release.
The commission said that the adjustment of the rules for the televised duel in Nashville, Tennessee, would not satisfy either of the two campaign teams. For some, the changes didn’t go far enough, others rejected them as well. “We are confident that these measures are the correct measure and that they are in the interest of the people in the United States for whom these discussions are taking place,” the commission said.
Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, also said that the president would participate in the television duel despite the “last minute rule change.” In the first debate in late September, Trump had interrupted Biden many times, leading to sometimes chaotic scenes. Biden also interrupted Trump several times, the moderator appearing partly helpless.
Originally, three television duels were planned between Trump and Biden. The second, scheduled for October 15, was canceled: The commission had changed the format due to Trump’s Covid-19 disease and wanted to connect candidates online rather than face-to-face. Trump refused.
Biden (77) and Trump (74) appeared on two different television channels at the same time that night to ask voters questions.
Trump said on Fox News on Tuesday that the commission members “were not good people.” The body has lost all credibility. The Republican again attacked the host of the upcoming debate, NBC journalist Kristen Welker. “Kristen Welker is horrible, she is totally partisan,” Trump said. The television duel “could never be fair” with her.
According to the debating committee, the six topics selected by moderator Welker include the corona pandemic, climate change and national security. Trump again criticized Tuesday that the focus of the latest debate was not on foreign policy.
Trump’s campaign adviser Jason Miller had accused the commission Monday of failing to focus on foreign policy at the request of Biden’s team. Former Vice President Biden does not want to be confronted with his previous support for “endless wars” or questionable foreign deals by his son Hunter Biden in the debate, Miller said. “It is clear that the Biden camp does not want to talk about foreign policy.” (sda)
