CNN Reveals How They’ll Mute Microphones During Trump-Biden Debate… and It Could Backfire for One Candidate

To allow Thursday night’s high-profile presidential debate to go ahead, the candidates’ microphones will be muted when it is not their turn to speak.

However, some believe the move, initially seen as a way to prevent President Biden from being endlessly interrupted by Donald Trump, could backfire on him later.

CNN demonstrated how the muted microphones will work in a preview of the must-see 90-minute political event hosted by hosts Dana Bash and Jake Tapper.

When it’s Biden or Trump’s turn to speak, two green lights behind their podiums will light up to indicate that the microphone is on. When they speak, the audience can hear them.

But those green lights are off when it’s not a candidate’s turn and their microphone is muted.

CNN showed that when the candidate is seen on television trying to interrupt or talk with the microphone off, he cannot be heard on television.

This is a change from when Biden and Trump went face-to-face during the general election debates just four years ago.

Biden’s campaign has requested that the candidates’ microphones be muted if their turn has not yet come before they accept the terms for their first debate in 2024 in Atlanta.

The goal was to promote an orderly event and eliminate any crosstalk.

In the first Trump-Biden debate in September 2020, Trump repeatedly spoke about and interrupted Biden to the point where Biden delivered one of the most memorable lines of the evening, telling his Republican opponent, “Will you shut up, man ?’

The green lights indicating a candidate’s microphone are lit during the debate. When the green lights go out, it means the candidate’s microphone is muted

During the September 2020 debate, Trump interrupted Biden several times, to the point where Biden finally said, “Would you please shut up, man?”

Speaking on The Rest is Politics podcast ahead of the debate, veteran political correspondent Katty Kay questioned Biden’s team’s request to mute the microphones when it’s not their turn, saying it could be a “mistake” to avoid making Trump look like a “bully interrupter.”

“I’ve talked to enough people around Donald Trump to wonder if that was a mistake,” she said. “Because the reason Joe Biden won that debate in 2020 was because Donald Trump interrupted him the whole time.”

“This time, Donald Trump won’t be able to interrupt him, at least not in terms of what the audience will hear. Does that mean Donald Trump won’t look like the kind of crazy, rude, bullying interrupter because his microphone is muted?”

Fox News host Bret Baier also suggested that the format of the confrontation could help Trump.

“This debate format, where the microphones are muted and there is no studio audience, could somehow work out in Trump’s favor because he won’t be like he was during the first debate in 2020.” , Baier said in the broadcast, the day before the big debate.

His guest Mollie Hemingway of The Federalist agreed that “it might actually help him.”

Jennifer Palmieri, a senior aide to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, said the debate will be easier to watch if the rules are in place, but she warned that Biden’s team should worry about the appearance of a “disciplined Trump’.

“The muted microphones during tonight’s presidential debate may ultimately help Trump avoid the interruptions and outbursts that undermined his likability during the first 2020 debate,” political consultant and pollster Frank Luntz wrote on X.

For those watching at home and wanting to hear what each candidate has to say, it could be a welcome change from the chaos of 2020.

The lights turn yellow when a candidate has 15 seconds left to speak. They flash red when the candidate has five seconds left to speak. They remain red when the candidate’s time is up and the microphone is muted

Alfred, an Uber driver in Atlanta, said he was going home later to watch the debate. He called it “must-see TV” and was very happy with the plan to turn off the microphones. He said he hopes that will allow him to hear exactly what the candidates are saying.

On X, there has been mixed reaction to the idea of ​​muting microphones during the debate. Some Trump supporters argued that it would help Biden and accused CNN of manipulating the debate leading up to the big event. Others applauded the rule, arguing that it would allow for a more civil conversation.

Trump and Biden will be aware of how much time they have left to speak depending on the lights on the cameras.

When the lights turn yellow, contestants have fifteen seconds to answer. When the lights flash red, they have five seconds left, and when the lights remain solid red, their time is up and their microphone is muted.

According to guidelines previously released by CNN, the candidates’ positions on stage are determined by the flip of a coin.