Presidential debate commission allows for muting microphones so Trump and Biden can have uninterrupted time

Biden Trump Presidential Debate — Democratic Presidential candidate and former US Vice President Joe Biden (L) and US President Donald Trump speaking during the first presidential debate at the Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio on September 29, 2020.
Jim Watson, Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

The Commission on Presidential Debates announced it will employ new rules at the next debate to mute microphones to allow each presidential candidate gets two minutes of uninterrupted time.
The move was designed to provide "additional structure ... to the format of the remaining debates in order to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues," according to a statement from the commission.
President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will appear on the debate stage for a second time on October 22 in Nashville.
A post-debate analysis by The Washington Post found that interjections by Trump accounted for more than 75% of interruptions that happened during the debate as a whole. A count by Slate Magazine said the president interrupted both Biden and Wallace a total of at least 128 times.
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The Commission on Presidential Debate announced Monday that it will introduce new rules to mute microphones to allow each candidate to have two minutes of uninterrupted time.

The move was designed to provide "additional structure ... to the format of the remaining debates in order to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues," according to a statement from the commission.

President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will appear on the debate stage for a second time on October 22 in Nashville.

"The Commission is announcing today that in order to enforce this agreed upon rule, the only candidate whose microphone will be open during these two-minute periods is the candidate who has the floor under the rules," the statement read.

"For the balance of each segment, which by design is intended to be dedicated to open discussion, both candidates' microphones will be open."

Tensions were high during the first presidential debate on September 29 as moderator Chris Wallace had trouble reining in the candidates, who were cutting into the other's speaking time during the debate.

A post-debate analysis by The Washington Post found that interjections by Trump accounted for more than 75% of interruptions that happened during the debate as a whole. A count by Slate Magazine said the president interrupted both Biden and Wallace a total of at least 128 times.

In the statement from the debate commission, the panel recognized that "neither campaign may be totally satisfied with the measures announced today. One may think they go too far, and one may think they do not go far enough."

"We are comfortable that these actions strike the right balance and that they are in the interest of the American people, for whom these debates are held," the statement concluded.

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