The second US presidential debate is scheduled for October 15 in Miami. (File)
Washington:
US President Donald Trump said Thursday he enjoys his debates with Joe Biden as they are and opposes potential changes to try to prevent a repeat of the chaos that marred their first clash.
The organizers of the US presidential debates announced Wednesday that “additional structure” was needed “to ensure a more orderly discussion” – a polite reference to the collapse that had occurred the day before in Cleveland.
Trump say not so fast.
“Why would I allow the Debates Committee to change the rules for the second and third debates when I won easily the last time?” he tweeted.
Trump has declared himself the winner on several occasions, citing unidentified polls. Investigations by US media organizations have suggested otherwise, giving Biden the upper hand.
Republicans, Democrats and even the evening’s moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News were almost unanimous in agreeing that the 90-minute meeting was an ugly and out of control occasion.
“I never dreamed that it would turn off the beaten track like it did,” Wallace told The New York Times on Wednesday.
Still in the grip of the nationally televised debacle on Thursday, the extremely experienced Wallace told Fox News that Trump had ruined what should have been the equivalent of a “beautiful and delicious cake.”
“I felt like I put all the ingredients together,” Wallace said. “Then, frankly, the president stepped in. And that was frustrating.”
Microphone mute switch?
The second presidential debate, which will take place in town hall form with members of the public asking questions, is scheduled for October 15 in Miami. The third is scheduled for October 22 in Nashville.
Among the possible changes being discussed to help moderators is to allow them to turn off a candidate’s microphone, in the hope of avoiding interruptions and explosions. Debate watchers have already pointed out that one candidate can still yell at the other’s remarks, as Trump repeatedly did on Tuesday.
He and Biden both interrupted and insulted each other in Cleveland, but the president did it the most and certainly the strongest.
Trump’s senior adviser, Jason Miller, told reporters that the White House views the bipartisan debate committee as an organ of the hostile establishment – “swamp monsters.”
And Trump spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany dismissed the idea that her boss had anything to do with the problem.
She told reporters on Thursday that the only changes the president would agree to in the next debate are “a change of moderator and a change of Democratic candidate.”
“He doesn’t want rules that cover a certain candidate’s inability to perform well.”
Trump, who is well behind in the polls against Biden ahead of the Nov. 3 election, called the Cleveland debate “an exciting night.”
Biden has confirmed he will run, rejecting calls from some of his supporters to boycott future debates.
The former vice president, who at one point on Tuesday told Trump to “shut up,” said he was open to turning off microphones if that helps the public.
“We have the opportunity to answer questions from those present,” he told reporters.
“I think it’s appropriate that when a person, a voter, some thinking about how they will vote this year, when they ask a question, who they ask it, have the opportunity to fully answer it. . “
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
