Presidential Debate Format Will Be Revised After Trump’s Interruptions

Following a chaotic presidential debate—during which President Trump repeatedly talked over former Vice President Joe Biden—the Commission on Presidential Debates will announce new measures for future events “to ensure a more orderly discussion.” In a statement, the commission said that the format of the debates needs “additional structure.” “The Commission on Presidential Debates sponsors televised debates for the benefit of the American electorate. 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 said. “The CPD will be carefully considering the changes that it will adopt and will announce those measures shortly. The Commission is grateful to 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.” In a statement, the Trump campaign’s communications director blasted the move, claiming, “They’re 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. They shouldn’t be moving the goalposts and changing the rules in the middle of the game.”

In a call with reporters immediately following Tuesday night’s event, a senior Biden campaign official stressed multiple times that the former vice president will attend the final two debates.