It’s hard to imagine anyone is still on the fence when it comes to next month’s presidential election, but if you’re one of those unicorns and actually want to find out where Joe Biden and Donald Trump stand on the issues, the Commission on Presidential Debates is trying their best to have your back. As reported by the Associated Press Monday, the commission is officially wheeling out one of those rumored “tools to maintain order†we’ve been hearing about: a mute function.
According to AP, both the president and former vice-president will have their mics cut off while the other delivers “their opening two-minute answer to each of the debate topics.†The 90-minute-long debate will be divided into six 15-minute sections, but don’t worry: After each candidate’s initial response, there will still be an “open discussion portion†during which their mics will not be muted, but any interruptions either make during those segments will still count toward their time.
According to a statement from the commission, they “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 decision is presumably a direct attempt to address the “shitshow†that was the pair’s first debate in Cleveland last month. We’re assuming Trump will take the news with the same sense of dignity and decorum he’s used to complain about the upcoming debate’s list of topics and to attack moderator Kristen Welker.
The final presidential debate, at least as of right now, will be held at Nashville’s Belmont University this Thursday, October 22, at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, and will be viewable on C-SPAN and most major networks.