Following a messy first presidential debate between President Trump and Joe Biden, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced that it will add additional rules for the next two debates between the two candidates.
“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 Commission on Presidential Debates said in a statement on Wednesday. “The CPD will be carefully considering the changes that it will adopt and will announce those measures shortly.”
Tuesday’s chaotic debate was characterized by Trump constantly interrupting the former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee and moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News struggling to get the candidates to allow equal time for discussion of the topics.
Biden told Trump to “shut up” and attempted to ignore the president’s constant interruption by speaking directly to the camera and the viewers watching at home.
The commission praised Wallace for how he handled the constant ignoring of the rules by Trump.
“The Commission is grateful to Chris Wallace for the professionalism and skill he brought to last night’s debate and intends to ensure that additional tools to maintain order are in place for the remaining debates,” the statement said.
The messy debate prompted speculation about whether the candidates would agree to participate in future debates, but Biden’s campaign asserted his commitment to showing up for them.
Two more debates between Trump and Biden are scheduled for Oct. 15 and 22, and a debate between California Sen. Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled for Oct. 7.
