WASHINGTON (US) – The much-awaited final debate between President Donald Trump and his rival Democrat Joe Biden will feature a mute button which enables each candidate to speak without being interrupted, said organisers. This comes as a bid to avoid the disruptions that marred the first debate.
Though the president’s campaign has raised objections to the change, officials said he would still take part in the event on Thursday night. It is one of his final chances to reach out to a large prime-time audience before the vote comes to a close on Nov. 3.
According to the Presidential Commission on Debates, the microphone of each candidate would be muted to allow the other to make two minutes of opening remarks at the onset of each 15-minute segment. Both microphones will be turned on to allow a back-and-forth after that time.
“President Trump is committed to debating Joe Biden regardless of last-minute rule changes from the biased commission in their latest attempt to provide advantage to their favoured candidate,” Republican campaign manager Bill Stepien said.
The president’s campaign said on Monday that it was unhappy with the set of topics for Thursday’s debate, adding that it should focus more on foreign policy. It also asserted that the nonpartisan group was inclined toward Biden.
“I will participate but it’s very unfair that they changed the topics and it’s very unfair that again we have an anchor who’s totally biased,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while returning to Washington from Arizona.
The debate is likely to be anchored by Kristen Welker of NBC News.