Trump opposes changes to presidential debate format, says 'easily won last time'

US President Donald Trump opposed the move to update the presidential debate rules for the remaining two scheduled discussions on Thursday, October 1. Since the first disjointed Trump-Biden debate on September 29, the Debate Commission is reported to be mulling over the introduction of new rules to the format. While many have blamed Trump for constant interruptions leading to loss of decorum, the US President took to Twitter saying that he “easily won”. 

The first of the three debates between the Presidential contenders took place in Cleveland and was seen quickly turning chaotic. The Commission later said that the first presidential debate of US Election 2020 “made clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues.”

As per The Associated Press report, for the remaining two debates, the moderator might get the power to disconnect the microphone of one participant while the other is still making a point; a person familiar with the issue discussed it on the condition of anonymity. The next presidential debate in a town hall format is scheduled to take place in Miami on October 15. 

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90 interruptions in 90 minutes

At various instances in the Trump-Biden debate, moderator Chris Wallace was seen battling to gain control of the discussion in Cleveland owing to frequent interruptions, mostly by the Republican leader. As per The Washington Post analysis, in the 90-minute-debate, the candidates either interrupted Wallace or their opponent at least 90 times, out of which, 71 times it was Donald Trump.

Wallace was repeatedly seen requesting for more decorum. At one instance, he told the US President, “the country would be better served if we allowed both people to speak with fewer interruptions. I’m appealing to you, sir, to do that.” To which, Trump replied, “Ask him, too,” and then the moderator said, “Well, frankly, you’ve been doing more interrupting than he has.” Joe Biden had later called the debate “a national embarrassment”.

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