Mics will be cut for portions of final presidential debate after commission adopts new rules
Joey Garrison | USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden will have their microphones cut off during portions of Thursday's debate while their rival speaks – but the moderator won't have a mute button as some had speculated .
The Commission on Presidential Debates announced Monday it plans to mute the microphones of Trump and Biden as the other gives two-minute opening statements at the beginning of each of six debate topics during the 90-minute second and final debate in Nashville at Belmont University.
But the microphones of both candidates will be on during the "open discussion" portion of the debate, the commission said. The moderator, Kristen Welker of NBC News, has been tasked with returning any time taken up by interruptions to the other candidate.
"During the times dedicated for open discussion, it is the hope of the Commission that the candidates will be respectful of each other's time, which will advance civil discourse for the benefit of the viewing public," the commission said in a statement.
The bipartisan nonprofit commission has faced increasing scrutiny from the Trump campaign to avoid changing the rules, while Biden’s team was hoping for a more ordered debate.
The commission said both campaigns this week "again reaffirmed" their agreement to a two-minute, uninterrupted rule to kick off each segment. Turning off the microphones during opening statements of each segment is meant to "enforce this agreed upon rule," the commission said.
"We realize, after discussions with both campaigns, that neither campaign may be totally satisfied with the measures announced today," the commission said. "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."
More: Trump-Biden debate was marred by interruptions. Should mics have been cut?
After a chaotic first debate on Sept. 29 in Cleveland last month filled with interruptions, particularly from Trump, the commission announced it would be adding "additional tools to maintain order" for future debates.
Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien confirmed Trump will take part in the debate following the changes.
"President Trump is committed to debating Joe Biden regardless of last minute rule changes from the biased commission in their latest attempt to provide advantage to their favored candidate," he said.
The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
In a letter to the commission earlier Monday , Stepien objected to the commission empowering any individual with the ability to cut off a microphone. He called it "completely unacceptable for anyone to wield such power," and would give "further editorial control of the debate over to the Commission which has already demonstrated its partiality to Biden."
The Trump campaign has been highly critical of the debate commission after it rescheduled the second debate to a virtual format following Trump testing positive for COVID-19. Trump refused to take part and the debate was cancelled.
Stepien also expressed "great concern" over the commission's decision to not have a theme devoted to foreign policy. Instead, the debate themes, as announced by Welker, will be fighting COVID-19, American families, race in America, climate change, national security and leadership.
The commission never publicly announced that the final debate would have a foreign policy focus.
More: Second presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump canceled
But Stepien called it the "long-standing custom" of the commission to make foreign policy central to the final debate. He urged the commission to "recalibrate the topics and return to subjects which had already been confirmed."
"It is completely irresponsible for the commission to alter the focus of this final debate just days before the event, solely to insulate Biden from his own history," he said.
Contributing: Associated Press. Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @Joeygarrison .
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