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Thursday’s Presidential Debate Will Feature Muted Microphones
The first 2020 Presidential Debate was, well...a hot mess to put it nicely. It looks like the next debate will have a little more order.
Let's be honest, we all saw the last Presidential Debate. It was chaotic. The moderator had a hard time reeling the candidates in and keeping them from interrupting each other. After the debate, social media blew up with displeasure on how the debate went. One of the biggest criticisms was that candidates kept interrupting each other. One suggestion that kept floating around online was that they needed mute buttons. Well, apparently, The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates heard you loud and clear.
It was announced on Monday that President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden their microphones turned off in Thursday’s debate while the other candidate delivers their opening two-minute answer to each of the debate topics, according to USA Today. However, the moderator will not have control over the mute button.
Here's the kicker, microphones of both candidates will be on during the open discussion portion of the debate. This is where most people feel that the mute button should be enforced, giving each candidate uninterrupted time to answer the question. However, during these portions of the debate, interruptions by either candidate will count toward their time in the final debate Thursday.
According to USA Today, the commission said in a statement:
"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."
I'm pretty sure that was agreed upon last time too...but we all saw how that went down. Needless to say, if this debate is anything like the first one we had three weeks ago, grab some popcorn and enjoy the show. It will be very interesting to say the least.
(Source: USA Today)
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