The Commission on Presidential Debates chairman Frank Fahrenkopf came forward to justify the new rule that will switch mic off at the time of debate to reduce interruptions. The Republican chairman attributed the rule to leaders, President Donald Trump and former vice president Joe Biden, violating the commission's rules on not interrupting in the last debates.
In an interview with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade on The Brian Kilmeade Show, Fahrenkopf clarified that the rule isn't a new addition, noting that the campaigns agreed back in June. "Both agreed to live with it," he said, explaining that the rule ensures that for the initial four minutes of each of the 6 segments that Biden and Trump both get to speak for 2 minutes without any sort of interruptions.
Fahrenkopf recalled that both candidates violated that rule during their first debate. While the CPD didn't think it could alter any rule without getting the campaign approval, they had already agreed not to break up the continuity for each segment's first 4 minutes. He also confirmed that the rest of the debate would be open mics.
The commission announced Monday it would cut Trump and Biden's mics for the first 2 minutes response times given to their opponents at the impending debate, which takes place in Nashville on Thursday. Moreover, the debate will encompass an open discussion forum that will not have the mute option.
The upcoming debate will have 15-minutes segments, meaning 90 minutes overall, just like the first debate. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said it is imperative to have a mute button for the next debate to even take place. On the other hand, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy claims a mute button would give the moderator more power than needed.
Biden and Trump received strong criticism for interrupting their opponent at the first debate, and after the president's COVID-19 diagnosis, the second debate was changed to a virtual setting. The Trump campaign refused to participate in a virtual debate, and both candidates decided to host town halls instead.
The Trump campaign slammed the CPD's muting rule and urged the commission to add foreign policy-centric discussion in the next debate. Campaign manager Bill Stepien released a statement noting that Trump will participate in the debate despite the commission's bias, and attempt to give Biden an advantage by making last-minute rule changes.
Responding to the Trump campaign’s demand to include more foreign policy discussion in the next debate, the Biden campaign said Trump isn't prepared to address his handling of the coronavirus pandemic that claimed millions of lives across the nation.