Debates commission considering cutting off mics if Trump or Biden break rules
Source: CBS News
Washington — The commission that oversees the general election debates between candidates for president and vice president said Wednesday it will be making changes to the format of the remaining two presidential debates, including possibly taking control of the microphones of President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
[snip]
"The CPD will be carefully considering the changes that it will adopt and will announce those measures shortly," the organization said. "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."
An informed source told CBS News' Norah O'Donnell the commission will spend the next 48 hours determining 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."
At the top of the list is controlling the two candidates' microphones and their ability to interrupt one another and the moderator. The campaigns will be informed of the rules, but the source said the rules will not be subject to negotiation.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/commission-on-presidential-debates-changes-coming-next-debate/
This is something that my local CBS affiliate news radio station has started reporting this afternoon... If they go with this, it will be mandated (no "negotiation" about this rule).
= new reply since forum marked as read
He can only manage to waddle out. 
they will be forced to stay in sound-proof booths 
But there's a little hole for the sound to escape. 
David Bauder, Ap Media Writer
Updated 3:22 pm CDT, Wednesday, September 30, 2020
NEW YORK (AP) — The presidential debate commission says it will soon adopt changes to its format to avoid a repeat of the disjointed first meeting between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden.
The commission said Wednesday the 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.”
One possibility being discussed is to give the moderator the ability to cut off the microphone of one of the debate participants while his opponent is talking, according to a person familiar with the deliberations who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
. . .
Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said the commission was “only doing this because their guy got pummeled last night. President Trump was the dominant force and now Joe Biden is trying to work the refs.”
More:
https://www.chron.com/news/article/For-moderator-Chris-Wallace-debate-was-runaway-15607887.php
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Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh
and I know Congress has them installed in all of the Committee rooms, with color coded lights to indicate when the time is almost up. But unless the moderator is either given authority to do it or takes the initiative without being biased about how it is implemented and for who, then threatening to cut off a mic becomes meaningless.
We saw Biden attempt a Maxine Waters to "reclaim his time".
