Donald Trump's microphone could be turned off in the next debate if he keeps interrupting or he might get a time penalty under Debate commission plans after 'dumpster fire' clash
Donald Trump may have his microphone switched off or even be issued a time penalty if he keeps interrupting Joe Biden when the pair meet again for the second presidential debate next month.
The potential changes could be introduced as part of the Commission on Presidential Debates' (CPD) pledge to make the next showdown more 'orderly', after Tuesday's chaotic 90 minute debate was branded a 'dumpster fire' and a 'national embarrassment.'
Moderator Chris Wallace was faulted for not being able to marshal the bickering candidates and the Fox News veteran admitted afterwards that the debate 'was a terrible missed opportunity.'
The CPD said Wednesday it was 'clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues.'
The CPD is looking into giving the moderator the power to cut a candidate's microphone while his opponent is talking, according to a person familiar with the deliberations.
But Wallace said: 'As a practical matter, even if the president's microphone had been shut, he still could have continued to interrupt.'
Trump has said he 'was so disappointed in Fox' because of the way in which Wallace, who shared in Biden's exasperation, handled the clash. The president said Wallace 'protected' Biden by refusing to take up his probing line on issues such as Hunter Biden.
Trump (L) and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden (R) spar while moderator Chris Wallace (C) attempts to gain control during the first 2020 presidential election debate at Samson Pavilion in Cleveland, Ohio
While widely prescribed on social media as the most effective remedy for Trump's display Tuesday, in which he routinely interrupted his Democratic opponent as well as moderator Wallace, cutting off microphones may not necessarily help to restore order.
In addition to posing a number of technical challenges from a television production standpoint, turning off the candidate's mic may also not necessarily prevent them from talking.
Discussions regarding the matter, though, are said to still be in the preliminary stages.
Another option under consideration is to penalize an interrupting candidate by forcing them to yield more time back to the opponent.
New limits may also be placed on speaking times that would replace the open debate section at the end of each topic of discussion, where candidates have traditionally been encouraged to freely engage, according to the New York Times.
Currently, each candidate is given the opportunity to speak for two minutes - supposedly uninterrupted - in response to a moderator's question, before being allowed to respond to one another.
Trump routinely flouted those rules on Tuesday, despite agreeing abide by them before the showdown commenced.
The changes will be announced 'shortly,' the commission said, declining to comment further. There are three more debates on the calendar: next week's vice presidential debate in Salt Lake City and the final two presidential debates, to take place in Miami and Nashville later in October.
Viewers struggled to hear what the challengers were saying amid frequent interruptions
Wallace wasn't in favor of the power to shut off a candidate's microphone, saying it may not have stopped Trump and those comments still could have been picked up by Biden's mic.
In its statement, the commission also thanked Wallace for moderating the difficult event.
'The Commission is grateful to Chris Wallace for the professionalism and skill he brought to last night's debate and intends to ensure that additional tools to maintain order are in place for the remaining debates,' the statement said.
Wallace told The New York Times on Wednesday that he 'never dreamt that it would go off the tracks the way it did.' He conceded he didn't grasp quickly enough that Trump would keep interrupting.
'I guess I didn't realize - and there was no way you could, hindsight being 20/20 - that this was going to be the president's strategy, not just for the beginning of the debate but the entire debate,' said the host of Fox News Sunday.
In his first remarks after the crazy evening, Biden described Trump as a 'national embarrassment' and said he hopes the format is changed to the president's mic can be turned off when needed.
'I can understand it. I kind of thought at one point, and maybe I shouldn't say this, but the president of the United States conducting himself the way he did, I think it was just a national embarrassment,' Biden said Wednesday at a stop on his train tour of Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Biden confirmed he will participate in the following two debates. He said he is getting ready for the next debate, which will be in a town hall format hosted by C-SPAN's Steve Scully in Miami, Florida - and floated the idea of using technology to rein in Trump.
'I just hope there's a way in which the debate commission can control the ability of us to answer the question without interruption,' he said, suggesting his microphone be muted if the president interrupts him.
But Wallace said he wasn't in favor of the power to shut off a candidate's microphone, saying it may not have stopped Trump and those comments still could have been picked up by Biden's mic.
The president, meanwhile, also indicated he would be at the next presidential debate.
'I would like to,' he told reporters at the White House Wednesday before he left for Minnesota. 'We won the debate by almost every poll that I saw.'
He added of Biden: 'I don't mind debating him. I hear that he wants to get out of the debates. I don't know. That's up to him.'
Trump, meanwhile, said the night was 'fun.'
The president suggested he was debating two people on Tuesday – Biden and Wallace in a series of Wednesday morning tweets on the turbulent event.
'Chris had a tough night,' Trump tweeted. 'Two on one was not surprising, but fun.'
'Many important points made, like throwing Bernie, AOC PLUS 3, and the rest, to the wolves! Radical Left is dumping Sleepy Joe,' Trump claimed. 'Zero Democrat enthusiasm, WEAK Leadership!'
The president also suggested that Biden lost the suburban vote because he 'refused' to call for law and order at the debate.
'Biden REFUSED to use the term, LAW & ORDER! There go the Suburbs,' Trump, whose support is slipping among suburban voters, said.
Biden tweeted back: 'Enough with the racist dog whistles, Donald. You wouldn't know a suburb unless you took a wrong turn.'
Trump abandoned months of claims that Biden is a 'left wing puppet,' instead asserting at the debate that Biden lost support from the more progressive wing of Democrats.
President Donald Trump indicated he would debate rival Joe Biden again
Joe Biden, in his first remarks on the chaotic presidential debate, said President Trump was a 'national embarrassment'
Morning after: Joe Biden boarded a chartered Amtrak train for a whistle stop tour of eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Ohio has become competitive and polls in Pennsylvania have swung to put him ahead in the must-win state
All aboard: Joe Biden climbed onto the Amtrak car for a tour of Ohio and Pennsylvania the morning after the first presidential debate - a clash called the worse in history
Donald Trump reversed months of claims that Joe Biden is a 'puppet' for the progressive wing of the Democratic Party as he said Wednesday that the candidate has 'lost the Radical Left'
On the train: Joe Biden traveled first from Cleveland to Alliance, Ohio on his specially branded Amtrak charter, with his a few aides and journalists on board
The morning after the first presidential debate, Trump called the event 'fun', claiming he actually was debating Biden and Fox News moderator Chris Wallace
My guy: Jill Biden gave a show of support to her husband Joe after a debate called a 'dumpster fire' for its 90 minutes of acrimony
On board the Biden train: The Democratic candidate started a tour of eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania on a chartered Amtrak train at Cleveland's mainline rail station
A general consensus was reached that Tuesday night's contentious debate in Cleveland, Ohio was a 'dumpster fire' where neither candidate came out the other side looking good
Joe Biden will still participate in the remaining two presidential debates, his campaign said Tuesday, despite Tuesday night's first matchup being labeled a 'dumpster fire'
As the president attacked Biden for his environmental plan, the Democratic candidate said he does not support the Green New Deal – the brainchild of Democratic Socialist lawmakers Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The former vice president instead said he backs the 'Biden plan,' which was created with the help of Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez and former Secretary of State John Kerry.
The duration of the 90-minute uninterrupted debate included shouting matches between the candidates as they spewed insults at one another as moderator Chris Wallace lost control.
Trump also tweeted the morning after the debate a list of what he says Biden will do to limit Americans' rights if he becomes president.
'Biden wants to Pack the Supreme Court, thereby ruining it,' Trump accused. 'Also, he wants no fracking, killing our Energy business, and JOBS.'
He continued in the Wednesday morning tweet: 'Second Amendment is DEAD if Biden gets in! Is that what you want from a leader? He will destroy our Country! VOTE NOW USA.'
The debate barely kicked off before it devolved into a chaotic mess as the two candidates began name calling, fighting and cross-talking – ignoring pleas from Wallace to stand down.
'Would you shut up, man?,' a visibly exasperated Biden said about 20 minutes into the debate after Trump interrupted him.
Just 15 minutes later, as the candidate discussed the coronavirus pandemic, Biden urged Trump again: 'Would you just shush for a minute?'
'So presidential.' While Biden himself largely did not mention the debate, his wife Jill praised his performance before they boarded the special train in Cleveland
Trump also suggested Biden lost the suburban vote after he 'refused' to call for law and order at the debate Tuesday
When it was over CNN's Jake Tapper called it a 'hot mess, inside a dumpster fire, inside a train wreck,' as well as a 'disgrace,' in one of many efforts by commentators to make sense of the carnage. His colleague Dana Bash called it a 's**t show' - a verdict broadcast in full which rapidly went viral.
Biden spokeswoman Symone Sanders said it was 'just a lot of chaos from Donald Trump.'
Coming into a debate where his team acknowledged he skipped the typical policy cramming of such contests, Trump relentlessly went after Biden – frequently cutting him off mid-sentence.
Biden, determined not to get out-muscled and mindful of Trump's slashing 2016 attacks on Hillary Clinton, came armed with his own insults – branding Trump a 'liar' and a 'clown' and also 'a racist' – but sometimes merely sat back and smiled amid Trump's own charges.
During one exchange, Biden told the president to 'shut up.' Later he said 'you're the worst president that America has ever had.'
Trump, for his part, brought up Biden's son Hunter's past cocaine use and inaccurately accused him of getting a dishonorable discharge from the Navy. He called his rival a 'socialist,' and repeatedly tried to tar him with 'radical' elements like Antifa.
Trump and Biden shouted over each other, slung insults and engaged in so much cross-talk that sometimes it was hard to follow
Wallace stepped in several times asking the candidates to let their rival speak. 'I'm the moderator of this debate and I would like you to let me ask my question and then you can answer'
He tried to yoke Biden to a 'manifesto' of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and accused him of backing the Green New Deal on the environment. Biden said he backs the 'Biden plan.'
Nominal moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News repeatedly lectured Trump, telling him 'I'm the moderator of this debate' at one point. His efforts were mostly fruitless.
But he let the two candidates go at each other for long stretches, seemingly powerless to enforce rules negotiated for months by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential debates.
It was a departure from the one-on-one format where Wallace, who commands the TV stage on 'Fox News Sunday,' this summer cornered Trump with questions about his cognitive test and accepting the results of the election.
When the smoke cleared after 90 minutes of attacks and interruptions that left many viewers floored, it was not evident that Trump had accomplished the game-changing takedown of Biden's that his team was hoping for.
Even the famously pugnacious former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who helped prep Trump at the White House and urged him to go on the attack, found it to be too much. 'It was too hot. Listen, you come in and decide you want to be aggressive, and I think it was the right thing to be aggressive, but it was too hot,' he said afterward.
Biden entered the debate leading in national polls and in key battlegrounds. Hours before the debate began, the Cook Political Report moved Ohio and Iowa to 'toss-up' status – a sign of the increasing pressure on Trump to change the game.
The state of map upped the pressure on Trump to raise doubts about Biden, whose favorable rating ticked up after the party conventions.
Eschewing repeat formal practice sessions in advance, Trump instead huddled with Christie and personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and toggled between his standard riffs and attacks on Biden.
Biden, having heard Trump for weeks describe him as someone who was 'losing it' and 'sleepy' was determined to show voters he wouldn't fall prey to Trump's attacks.
He managed to inject most if not all of his key subject areas: bringing up COVID-19, 200,000 American deaths, Trump's golf, the Affordable Care Act, and casting Trump as someone who cares mainly about himself.
But there were plenty of times he let Trump attacks on him go unanswered, or had meek responses gut buried in his microphone while Trump kept railing against him.
He only briefly brought up the New York Times bombshell showing Trump paid just $750 in taxes in 2016, and tied it to Trump's 'profligate' 2017 tax law.
He spoke to 'you folks at home' in places like Scranton Pa., and tried to tie the issue to their pocketbooks.
'How well are you doing. This guy paid a total of $750 in tax!' he said.
When he did get the chance to complete a paragraph, Biden found opportunities to speak directly to the camera, appearing to look past Trump's attacks on him.
'You can't fix the econ until you fix the COVID crisis,' he said. 'He ought to get on the job and take care of the needs of the American people so we can open safely,' he said.
'This guy will close down the whole country,' Trump said in response.
'I'm the one that brought back football,' Trump said in the home-state of a Big Ten school. Biden let the claim slide.
In an early sign of just how petty the debate would become, there was an angry clash over whether Trump was 'smart.'
'A lot of people are going to die unless he gets a lot smarter a lot quicker,' Biden said, speaking of staving off coronavirus deaths.
'Did you use the word 'Smart?' Trump asked, exasperated.
'You said you went to Delaware State but you forgot the name of your college,' he said, bringing up a recent flub. 'You didn't go to Delaware State. You graduated either the lowest or the lowest in your class.
'Don't ever use the word smart with me,' Trump told him. 'Don't ever use that word.'
'Oh give me a break, Biden interrupted.
'Because you know what, there's nothing smart about you, Joe.'
One thing the debate lacked was a surprise stunt from Trump, who famously brought Clinton rape accusers to his first stand-off with Hillary Clinton in 2016 in an effort to rattle his opponent.
'Would you shut up, man?,' a visibly exasperated Biden said about 20 minutes into the debate after Trump interrupted him again as he tried to talk about the Supreme Court.
And, about 15 minutes later during a discussion on the COVID pandemic, he told Trump again: 'Would you just shush for a minute?'
The president tried to command the stage from out of the box, interrupting his rival repeatedly to make his point, counter Biden, and push himself into the conversation.
It happened so many times that moderate Chris Wallace stepped in, asking the president to let Biden finish his answer.
'I'm the moderator of this debate and I would like you to let me ask my question and then you can answer,' Wallace said told Trump.
'Go ahead then,' Trump said and then later adding to Wallace: 'I guess I'm debating you, not him. No surprise.'
After the debate had ended, the candidate's wives joined them on stage
The two men bickered about their intelligence. Trump has called himself a 'very stable genius' and bragged about how well he's done on a cognitive test, challenging Biden to take one.
And when Biden said he need to get 'a lot smarter' or more people would die from COVID, Trump was quick to pounce.
'Did you use the word 'Smart?' He said he went to Delaware State,' he snapped of Biden. Trump went to the University of Pennsylvania. 'He graduated the lowest or almost the lowest in your class. Don't ever use the word 'Smart' with me.'
Biden hit back.
'Oh, give me a break,' he said.
Trump replied: 'There's nothing smart about you. 47 years, you've done nothing.'
When Trump was pressed to reveal his health plan, he spoke about a Supreme Court ruling that struck down Obamacare's mandate that people buy insurance: 'Excuse me – I got rid of the individual mandate,' Trump said.
Wallace told him it was not a plan. 'That is absolutely a big thing,' Trump responded.
When Trump and Biden kept going at it, Wallace implored: 'Mr. President I'm the moderator of this debate and I would like you to let me ask my question.'
Biden was determined not to be caught with only a knife in a gunfight.
'You picked the wrong guy at the wrong night at the wrong time,' he told Trump.
Trump accused him of risking left wing wrath by distancing himself from Sanders.
'You just lost the left,' Trump told him.
The angry attacks carried over into the coronavirus.
'And by the way maybe inject some bleach into your arm, that'll take care of it,' Biden said, mocking Trump's comments about injecting disinfectant to cure the virus.
Trump said is was said 'sarcastically' – a claim he did not make at the time.
Members of the Trump family (L-R) Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, Tiffany Trump and Donald Trump Jr. where in the front row of the audience
While discussing the importance of masks to protect against the virus, Trump defended himself for not wearing one all the time, before poking fun at Biden for wearing 'the biggest mask he's ever seen'
The two men bickered about their intelligence. Trump has called himself a 'very stable genius' and bragged about how well he's done on a cognitive test, challenging Biden to take one
Trump was supported in Cleveland by first lady Melania Trump, who wore a $3340 Dolce & Gabbana black pinstriped pantsuit.
President Trump had all his adult children and several of their significant others with him when he landed in Cleveland, including Ivanka Trump, Lara Trump, Eric Trump, Tiffany Trump, Donald Trump Jr and Kimberly Guilfoyle.
On the staff side, National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, campaign manager Bill Stepien, Rep. Jim Jordan and adviser Hope Hicks also accompanied the Trumps on Air Force One.
Meanwhile, Melania Trump and Jill Biden came face-to-face for the first time this election year at the debate.
The two women have been at the same events in the past, including Trump's 2017 inauguration and the December 2018 funeral for George H.W. Bush, where the Bidens sat a row behind the Trumps.
But Tuesday marks the first election meeting for the two women, who have taken different approaches to the campaign trail this year.
Biden, who has years of experience as a political spouse, has been an active campaigner for her husband, keeping her own travel schedule, conducting interviews, and making the case for his election. She and Joe Biden will launch a train tour through Ohio and Pennsylvania on Wednesday.
Melania Trump, who was a political neophyte in the 2016 campaign, made the case for her husband's re-election bid at the Republican National Convention in August but hasn't appeared at a campaign event for him since then.
The 90-minute debate was divided into six segments, selected by Fox News' Chris Wallace, who moderated. They included: the pandemic, the economy, the Supreme Court, election integrity, the candidates' records, and 'race and violence in our cities.'
The candidates did not shake hands when they take the stage at 9 pm ET on Tuesday night because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead they stood at podiums that are socially distanced from one another while Wallace sits at a desk in front of them.
There was no opening statements and the first question went to Trump.
There was be a 'small' audience in the room, all of whom were tested for COVID, according to Peter Ayre, senior adviser to the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Chairs are lined up but signs have been placed on two of every three chairs that read: 'Thank you for not sitting here in observance of social distancing.'
Each campaign was given 20 tickets to hand out to guests. There will be about 100 people total watching.
Meanwhile, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson urged protesters to remain peaceful but said he will not issue a curfew for the city as protests and riots were feared.
'Cleveland has been a peaceful city lately so let's keep it that way and show the people the way Cleveland is,' Jackson said.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine sent 300 members from the Ohio National Guard to Cleveland.
A security perimeter was set up around the Samson Pavilion, the building where the debate will be held. There are numerous road closures in place for the debate sponsored by Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic.
Polls show Biden leading Trump nationally and in a number of key battleground states ahead of the debate, which is their first face-to-face meeting this year.
'I am looking very forward to the debate,' Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.
It is the first of three scheduled presidential debates. Vice President Mike Pence and California Sen. Kamala Harris, Biden's running mate, will debate in October.
Trump suggested in a tweet on Sunday that Biden will be on performance-enhancing drugs during the debate, which could be a prediction of how he'll try and rattle Biden during their face off.
The Ohio National Guard directs traffic away from the debate hall in Cleveland
Protesters rally against President Trump at the debate
Biden and his aides had rehearsed for any possible attacks from the commander-in-chief and the Democratic nominee has said he hopes he won't get thrown off by any Trump allegations.
The president has insisted repeatedly - and without proof - that Biden took performance enhancement drugs ahead of the Democratic debates. He's challenged him to take a drug test ahead of their debate here while offering to take one himself.
'Joe Biden just announced that he will not agree to a Drug Test. Gee, I wonder why?,' Trump tweeted Monday morning.
And the president said during a press conference at the White House on Sunday that he wasn't joking.
'No, I'm not joking. I mean, I'm willing to take a drug test. I think he should too,' he said.
On Sunday, when asked by reporters if he would take a drug test, Biden replied: 'No, I have no comment.
And his campaign put out a statement saying if Trump 'thinks his best case is made in urine, he can have it.'
Melania Trump, exiting Marine One at Joint Base Andrews with President Trump, will have her first face-to-face meeting with Jill Biden this campaign year
The Samson Pavilion on the main campus of the Cleveland Clinic, where the debate takes place
