(Newswire.net— October 1, 2020) —
The American Commission for Presidential Debates announced that it will soon adopt a change of format in order to avoid repeating the mistakes from the chaotic first meeting between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joseph Biden.
The commission said last night’s debate “clearly showed” that the format of the remaining debates needed “additional structure to ensure a more orderly discussion”.
One of the possibilities being considered is for the moderator to be authorized to turn off the microphone of the participants in the debate while their opponent is taking their turn to speak.
The first debate between Trump and Biden was marked by a chaotic atmosphere, with frequent intrusions into the word of the interlocutor, sharp accusations, and personal insults. The moderator of the debate, Fox News journalist Chris Wallace, failed to establish control over the discussion.
Until the election, two more presidential debates will be held, on October 15 in Miami and on October 22 in Nashville.
Here are some reactions Scroll.in logged from Twitter:
“Not since 2004 have two white men run against each other to be president of the United States. They are 74 and 77 years old, respectively.”
“hard to follow, and like the worst Zoom meeting ever.”
“Trump clearly has a strategy of interrupting Biden to see if he can stay on message and coherent. It’s not a bad strategy. This debate is like two people in a bar at 3am arguing about politics while the bartender is trying to get everyone out.”
“I know Chris Wallace doesn’t want to fact check, but if he could just ask Trump to stop interrupting Biden every three seconds, that’d be great.”
“The paradox tonight, & Biden’s big problem, is that he wants to demonstrate that Trump is unpresidential. Yet his supporters love precisely that about him. And his opponents know that already. So these debates are a bloody waste of time, forensically. Politically, theatrically”
“Takeaway: Chris Wallace would not be able to stop my kids from fighting”
Overall, political experts agree that the first round of the debate portrayed deep divisions in American society.