Debate planners vow less chaos at next Trump-Biden face-off
US President Donald Trump (L) and Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden (R) engaged in a feisty, chaotic debate that touched on a variety of subjects -- and included plenty of insults AFP/JIM WATSON, SAUL LOEB
JOHNSTOWN, Pennsylvania: US presidential debate organisers vowed on Wednesday (Sep 30) to change the rules to rein in unruly behaviour after President Donald Trump repeatedly interrupted rival Joe Biden and the moderator in the candidates' taunt-filled initial prime-time encounter.
Biden suggested a mute button might help and Trump complained the Commission on Presidential Debates was siding with the Democrats in the aftermath of Tuesday's debate in Cleveland.
The 90-minute face-off triggered widespread criticism of Trump and, to a lesser extent, Biden. The Republican president repeatedly bullied Biden and questioned his intelligence, while the Democratic nominee called Trump a racist, a liar and the worst president ever.
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Biden's campaign raised nearly US$10 million during the debate, a campaign aide said, adding to the Democrat's financial advantage with five weeks to go until the Nov 3 election.
The former vice president has held a modest but steady lead in national voter surveys for months, although opinion polls in the battleground states that traditionally decide elections show a closer contest.
Trump did not commit at the debate to accepting the election result, reasserting unfounded complaints that an increase in mail-in ballots because of the coronavirus pandemic would lead to widespread voting fraud.
"The president will step down. The American people will not stand for it. No agency would stand for that happening," Biden said on a campaign stop.
TURNING OFF THE MICROPHONE?
The debates commission said it would adopt changes to allow for a "more orderly discussion", with the next debate scheduled for Oct 15 in Miami. There was immediate speculation that this could include a mute button to limit interruptions.
The Trump campaign accused the organisation of "moving the goalposts and changing the rules in the middle of the game".
Trump also was critical of the debate's moderator, Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, who spent much of the debate trying to restore order.
"Chris had a tough night," Trump posted on Wednesday morning on Twitter, calling the debate a "two on one" fight.
"Never forget they are coming after me because I am fighting for you," Trump told thousands of cheering supporters at a rally outside an airport hangar in Duluth, Minnesota.
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Biden said on Wednesday he hoped organisers of future debates would be able to turn off the microphone of the candidate who is not speaking.
"It was a national embarrassment," Biden said of the debate and Trump's performance. "I am not going to speculate what happens at the second or third debate."
The debate commission defended Wallace, thanking him "for the professionalism and skill he brought to last night's debate" and promising "additional tools to maintain order".
The chaotic debate appeared unlikely to significantly alter the campaign's dynamics.
An estimated 73.1 million people tuned in to the chaotic face-off on Tuesday night across 16 networks, down from the 84 million who watched the first debate between Trump and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Biden, 77, was on a train tour through Ohio and Pennsylvania, both "Rust Belt" battleground states. The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll of Pennsylvania gave Biden a slight advantage there.
Trump, 74, was in Minnesota – one of the few states his campaign is targeting that voted Democratic in 2016 – for a fundraiser before a Wednesday evening rally in Duluth.
