One measure being discussed is allowing the moderator to turn off microphones when a candidate violates debate rules
Debate rules are set to be changed to avoid a repeat of the chaotic first meeting between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, the US presidential debate commission has said.
The ill-tempered debate on Tuesday between the US president and his Democratic challenger descended into chaos, with personal insults thrown and frequent interruptions – mainly from Mr Trump.
Chris Wallace, the moderator, had few options other than pleading with the candidates when rules both campaigns had agreed to were not followed.
One option being discussed is allowing the moderator to cut off microphones when a candidate violates rules, CBS News reported.
This comes after the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and Democratic presidential challenger, Joe Biden, engaged in the first US presidential debate before the election, with heated exchanges over COVID-19, race relations and election integrity.
The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) said in a statement that the first debate had “made 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 will be carefully considering the changes that it will adopt and will announce those measures shortly.”
It added: “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.”
CBS News reported that the next 48 hours would be spent drawing up new guidelines and rules for future debates, according to a source.
The rules will not be negotiable, the source said.
Mr Trump, retweeting a story about the planned debate changes, said: “Try getting a new Anchor and a smarter Democrat candidate!”
His team have criticised the plans for future debates.
Tim Murtaugh, communications director of the campaign, said: “They’re only doing this because their guy got pummelled last night.”
“President Trump was the dominant force and now Joe Biden is trying to work the refs. They shouldn’t be moving the goalposts and changing the rules in the middle of the game.”
This comes after Donald Trump, a self-proclaimed billionaire, had reportedly paid only $750 in federal income taxes in the year that he was elected the President of the United States, according to a New York Times investigation that could potentially shake up the US presidential election.
Mr Biden called the debate “a national embarrassment.”
The deputy manager of his campaign, Kate Bedingfield, said the former vice-president will “be focused on answering questions from the voters there, under whatever set of rules the Commission develops to try to contain Donald Trump’s behaviour”.
The second debate will be in a town hall format, meaning half the questions to both candidates will come from voters in the hall while the other half will be influenced by voter concerns on social media.
The last debate is on 22 October – less than two weeks before the election on 3 November.
