After what some described as a chaotic first presidential debate, the commission that oversees such debates has reportedly decided to implement a change that would silence the combative chatter between President Donald Trump and Democratic White House nominee Joe Biden in the next debate.
The Commission on Presidential Debates said Wednesday it would be making format changes in the following two debates. One of those changes may include cutting off the microphones of Trump and Biden if they break the rules, a source familiar with the commission’s deliberations told CBS News.
The plans have not yet been finalized, as the commission is still determining how it would be carried out. A source told CBS News' Norah O’Donnell the commission will spend the next 48 hours mulling over new guidelines and rules for the second debate. The organization is working on all possible solutions, but the source said that “we are going to be making changes.”
The nonpartisan commission has put together general election presidential debates since 1988. In a statement, the commission said the first debate “made clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues.”
For the next debate, there will be only 15-20 people in the town hall-style debate. Tim Murtaugh, communications director for the Trump campaign, criticized the commission for the forthcoming measures.
“They’re only doing this because their guy got pummeled last night,” he said in a statement sent to network. “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.”
Trump barreled into the debate Tuesday night as unconstrained by the facts as at his rallies, but this time having his campaign opponent and even the Fox News moderator, Chris Wallace, calling him out in real time, or trying. Biden stumbled on the record at times as the angry words flew from both men, with Biden at one point telling Trump to “shut up.”
Biden’s campaign did not comment on the possible changes, but Kate Bedingfield, deputy campaign manager for Biden, said the former vice president would be prepared for the next debate.
'He’ll be focused on answering questions from the voters there, under whatever set of rules the Commission develops to try to contain Donald Trump’s behavior," she said in a statement. “The president will have to choose between responding to voters about questions for which he has offered no answers in this campaign — or repeating last night’s unhinged meltdown.”
As of Wednesday, the commission had not specified if changes would be implemented, only that “last night’s debate 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 next presidential debate is planned for Oct. 15.
The Associated Press contributed to the report.
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