President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden will have their microphones cut off in Thursday’s debate while their rival delivers their opening two-minute answer to each of the debate topics.

What You Need To Know

  • The Commission on Presidential Debates will adopt a new rule to mute microphones during the candidates' opening two-minute replies

  • The open discussion portion of the debate will not feature a mute button

  • Interruptions by either candidate will count toward their time

  • The Trump campaign pressured the commission to avoid changing the rules; the Biden campaign was hoping for a more ordered debate

The 90-minute debate is divided into six 15-minute segments, with each candidate granted two minutes to deliver uninterrupted remarks before proceeding to an open debate. The open discussion portion of the debate will not feature a mute button, but interruptions by either candidate will count toward their time in the second and final debate Thursday.

“During the times dedicated for open discussion, it is the hope of the Commission that the candidates will be respectful of each other’s time, which will advance civil discourse for the benefit of the viewing public,” the commission wrote in a statement.

The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announced the rule changes Monday, three weeks after a chaotic opening faceoff between the two presidential contenders that featured frequent interruptions — most by Trump.

Trump plans to attend Thursday’s debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden despite rule changes — opposed by his campaign — that are meant to foster more ordered discussions.

Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien says 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 favored candidate.”

“It is completely unacceptable for anyone to wield such power, and a decision to proceed with that change amounts to turning further editorial control of the debate over to the Commission which has already demonstrated its partiality to Biden,” Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, wrote in a letter to what he lampooned as the "Biden Debate Commission."

 

 

“I’ll participate, I just think it is very unfair,” Trump said to reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday. “I will participate, but it’s very unfair that they changed the topics and it is very unfair that again we have an anchor who is totally biased."

The commission has faced pressure from the Trump campaign to avoid changing the rules, while Biden’s team was hoping for a more ordered debate. In a statement, the commission said it “had determined that it is appropriate to adopt measures intended to promote adherence to agreed upon rules and inappropriate to make changes to those rules.”

The move is meant to prevent a repeat of the inaugural debate three weeks ago when the two candidates, but mostly Trump, interrupted each other repeatedly.

The Biden campaign did not immediately comment on the new rule.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.