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The commission that oversees US presidential debates says it will change the format to ensure the remaining two meetings between Donald Trump and Joe Biden are more orderly.
A new measure could be to cut the microphones if the candidates try to interrupt themselves, US media report.
The announcement followed Tuesday’s moody debate that turned into fights, squabbles and name calling.
President Trump’s team has already criticized the commission’s plans.
The tone and tactics of the first presidential debate were criticized in the United States and around the world.
However, the fallout has also been dominated by comments Trump made about a far-right group called the Proud Boys.
On Wednesday he sought to clarify his comments, but his critics maintain that he has refused to condemn white supremacists.
What are the plans for the next discussions?
The Committee on Presidential Debates (CPD) said in a statement that the debate “made it clear that additional structure must be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues.”
“The CPD will carefully consider the changes it will adopt and will announce those measures shortly,” he said.
“The commission appreciates [moderator] Chris Wallace for the professionalism and skill he brought to last night’s debate and he intends to make sure there are additional tools to keep order in the remaining debates. “
President Trump constantly interrupted Biden, prompting a series of chaotic exchanges in which the two men talked to each other.
Trump questioned Biden’s intelligence and Biden called President Trump a clown, told him to shut up and said, “You wanna shut up, man?”
CBS News, citing an informed source, said the commission would spend the next 48 hours developing new guidelines and rules for the second debate.
Controlling the candidates’ microphones is at the top of the list, CBS said, to prevent them from interrupting the moderator or each other.
Both campaign teams will be informed of the rules, but they will not be subject to negotiation, the source added.
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What is the reaction?
Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh, who described the chaotic scenes Tuesday night as a “free exchange of ideas,” criticized the plans.
“They are only doing this because their man was beaten last night,” she said in a statement.
“President Trump was the dominant force and now Joe Biden is trying to work with the umpires. They shouldn’t move the posts and change the rules in the middle of the game.”
Kate Bedingfield, Biden’s deputy campaign manager, said the former vice president would participate “under whatever set of rules the commission develops to try to contain Donald Trump’s behavior.”
“The president will have to choose between responding to voters on questions that he has not responded to this campaign, or repeating last night’s unhinged collapse,” he said.
The next contest is scheduled for October 15 in Miami, Florida.
What did Trump say about the Proud Boys?
During the debate, moderator Chris Wallace asked if the president would condemn white supremacists and tell them to stand down during the protests.
When Trump asked who he was told to convict, Biden said “Proud Boys” twice.
The president said, “Proud Boys, back up and wait. But I’ll tell you what … someone has to do something about Antifa. [anti-fascist activists] and to the left because this is not a right-wing problem. “
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The Proud Boys members called his “stand by” comment “historic” and an endorsement.
Biden said Trump had “refused to repudiate white supremacists.”
On Wednesday, Trump appeared to attempt to retract his comments.
At a press conference on the White House lawn, a reporter asked him about the Proud Boys and said, “I don’t know who they are. I can only say they have to stand down and let law enforcement do their job.”
He did not clarify his use of “stand by” in the debate. When asked if he liked the support of white supremacists, he said only that he wanted “law and order to be a very important part of our campaign.”
Joe Biden returned to the subject in a tweet on Wednesday, saying: “There is no other way to put it: the president of the United States refused last night to repudiate white supremacists on the stage of the debate.”
In his tweet he quoted a comment, addressed to the president, from a Proud Boys online forum. It said, “This makes me so happy. We’re ready! Waiting, sir.”
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