Trump, Biden Mics To Be Muted During Tonight’s Presidential Debate

With the 2020 presidential election right around the corner, some may still be on the fence when it comes to who they will be voting for. A great way to hear out the candidate’s ideas and viewpoints is to tune into the presidential debates. Every presidential election has these debates to further help the American citizens get a grasp of who they may be voting for or help decide who to vote for.

The debates are arguably the most important aspect of the entire election and a lot is at stake for each candidate during them. The first presidential debate was on Sep. 29, 2020. This debate had a lot of information; however, both candidates struggled to take turns speaking as they both spoke over each other many times. With this in mind, the commission decided to cut the microphones of the candidates during the next presidential debate. 

After the fiasco back in September, the commission thought it was only best to mute the microphones when the candidate’s two-minute time limit is up. The announcement was made Monday, Oct. 19, and obviously, some people are in disagreement with the decision. The commission did decide to mute the microphones of former Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump while the other candidate is giving a two-minute opening statement at the beginning of the six topics that will be talked about during the debate. However, the commission also stated that during the “open discussion” of the debate, the microphones will be on for both candidates. 

It was also thought that the debate would be controlled by the moderator, assuming they would control who and when each candidate was muted throughout the entire debate. However, the moderator, Kristen Welker of NBC News, will not be in charge of who gets muted and when. On the contrary, Welker was informed that she is permitted to return time that was taken away from a candidate due to interruptions. 

“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 statement said.

President Trump’s campaign has been speaking out against the commission’s new rule, while Biden’s campaign was hoping for a more ordered and controlled debate. Both candidate’s campaign teams have been in communication directly with the commission on either their concerns or opinions on the new rule. Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien has stated that Trump “is committed to debating Joe Biden regardless of last-minute rule changes from the biased commission in their latest attempt to provide an advantage to their favored candidate.” 

The debate is tonight, Oct. 22, starting from 9 p.m. ET until 10:30 p.m. ET. Viewers can find the debate live-streamed on YouTube or on any of the following channels: ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, C-SPAN, Fox News and MSNBC. As of right now, registered voters who are affiliated with a party are permitted to participate in early voting until Nov. 1. Election day is Nov. 3.

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