6mo ago

Biden and Trump campaigns agreed to mic muting, podiums among rules for upcoming CNN debate | CNN Politics

edition.cnn.com Biden and Trump campaigns agreed to mic muting, podiums among rules for upcoming CNN debate | CNN Politics

With less than two weeks until the first presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle, CNN has released additional details on the parameters agreed upon by the Trump and Biden campaigns.

The 90-minute debate will include two commercial breaks, according to the network, and campaign staff may not interact with their candidate during that time.
Both candidates agreed to appear at a uniform podium, and their podium positions will be determined by a coin flip.
Microphones will be muted throughout the debate except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak. While no props or pre-written notes will be allowed on the stage, candidates will be given a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water.

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Trump campaign will be the first one to complain about mic muting. I bet my ass on that.
- He's gonna complain that he never agreed to it and use it as an excuse to back out
- Trump is just going to be shouting while Biden talks anyway. So the viewer will see Biden distracted and stuttering because half his attention will be on trying to ignore Trump, but the viewer will not hear it, beyond maybe a little background noise that's picked up on Bidens mic.
  This is Trump's strategy. He has done it before. They really need sound proof booths too.
  
  Did you forget that Biden was in the Senate for decades? All they do is make speeches 99% of the time they are in the chamber.
  Notice how Trump is only good in front of a friendly crowd. Biden has spoken publicly and privately in front of people who dislike him for most of his life. Biden is practicing now, and I suspect he will make Trump look like a fool.
- "They wouldn't even let me talk! How am I supposed to debate when I can't talk all the time? Biden got to talk when it was his turn, but they wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise while he was talking to tell him how wrong he is... Also, what am I supposed to do with a pen and paper? Who uses a pen and paper in this day and age? Am I supposed to write a letter? Why can't I have my phone to tweet live about how unfairly I'm being treated!? Literally the most rigged, one-sided debate in ALL of history! And I'd know! I've been warning everyone this whole time they'll rig things from the start! Just like they RIGGED THE LAST ELECTION!!!"

Honestly happy with the mic muting, wished it was a thing back then. But what's even the point of this debate, who is going to watch it with bated breath struggling to decide?
- The goal is not to learn information about who the candidates already are. We already know who they are. The goal is to see them react to each other and have the more vitriolic candidate self-destruct on TV.
  
  Each party has the goal of getting the other side to say something that will be a useful campaign sound bite. Maybe that will cause then to tone things down.
  Who am I kidding, Trump will go over the top as usual trying to rile Biden.
  
  Also so people can assess the vigor and wit of two candidates that each side has been calling decrepit and cognitively impaired.
- I'll be watching with baited breath alright. It will be a show. One of them might actually die on stage. That's not even the least spectacular thing that could happen.
- Much like most cultural events, I'll just wait for the funniest clips to be posted to YouTube
- I'm not American and don't much care about American politics but having a debate between 2 people both so old they can actually die on stage while age cooked their brains at least 5 years ago is a spectacle I'm not missing.
- They are doing it for the memes

Letting the parties replace the non partisan committee is still a terrible choice. Unfortunately both parties agreed it was best if they just worked together directly to set these up, and it only includes their two parties.
They're never going to give that power back up. They're never going to invite a 3d party. And with how often the two parties actually work out deals, I feel like a lot of future debates are gonna be cancelled.

Trump probably thinks mic muting means telling his former vice president to shut up.
- Rofl

Bets on whether trump walks out at the break?
- I doubt he shows up at all.
  
  “I’ll totally testify at my trial, 100%.”
  
  Yup. Fives on that ☝️
- He will come up with some bullshit excuse of why he can't attend or how it's all rigged and refuse to participate
  
  And his followers will lap it up without a second thought and ignore anything that says otherwise.
- Bone spurs acting up again?

Anyone who thinks muting a mic is going to keep things civil and with any level of decorum hasn't been paying attention.
- Honestly, it's perfect. I don't know if you've ever seen a heated debate where if someone is an asshole their mic gets muted, and you can still faintly hear them yelling in the background through other people's mics while conversation continues among the people whose mics are still active. Or, where they try to barge their way over and grab some other mic that's still active. I've observed both of these, and they are exactly what we need right now.
  I don't for a second imagine that this debate will remain civil or with any level of decorum, if it does happen, whatever the rules are. But the optics that could ensue from mic muting are exactly what our political discourse needs right now. Like, completely. To a T.
  
  I might just be too cynical at this point. It'd be fun to see, but at this point I suspect that any attempt to keep Trump, and I won't pretend to think it's about anyone but him really given the history, in check will be brushed off as 'the biased,unfair moderators are just trying to silence him' rather than convincing any of his followers he might be a bit too volatile for public office.
- they should put them in a sound proof box, pipe in the what the other guy is saying when it's not their turn, and mute the off-mic in the broadcast... but give us subtitles so we can still read what they're saying.
  
  Gun rigged to a sound meter during opponents time. Better pray you don't have to sneeze.

Hopefully the mics, while muted, will still be recording audio so they can release Trump loudly shitting his pants when he thinks no one can hear.
- I'm so glad your mind works this way so mine doesn't have to.
  The hero we need.

Going to watch to see if I can guess how many drugs they’ll prop up Trump with. I’m going to guess a lot
- I'm pro Biden in this lineup, but you know that dude is gonna have a "nap" and an "ice cream cone" before the debate too lol
  Edit lol I'm not sure if the downvotes are from trump fans or Biden fans. Clearly senior age politicians have carefully managed drug cocktails for focus and energy. This isn't a secret, or a problem. If you can't take a simple joke about ice cream vs meds, you should reevaluate your position on celebrities.
  
  But the guy that slept through his own criminal trial will definitely not need a nap before/during the debate.
  /s just in case
  
  You gotta be a teenager or something if you're too cool for ice cream and naps
  Ice cream and a nap sounds awesome

Mildly surprised theyve agreed to a debate at all.

This is going to be a train wreck. Two old senile men that belong in a nursing home yelling at each other.

Are commercial breaks standard during debates? I can't recall a commercial break in the last 24 years of debates, but maybe that's just me.
- Nope.
  This is the first year the parties boycotted the nopartisian comitte's debates and instead are holding their own with CNN as the host
  Part of that deal, involves allowing ads.
  So CNN makes a bunch of money, the parties get influence over the debate, the questions being asked, and who can attend (only the two parties)
  Commercials are the most obvious part, but not the most impactful. This is dystopian as fuck and everyone seems to just be ok with it.
  
  I'm not ok with it but I wasn't paying attention enough to make sense of it until reading your comment. I feel like people would be more upset if they realized what is lost.

At this point, do they really need to be in the same room?
- Zoom debates! I can use my bingo card from work!

I can't wait to hear about sharks and boats

Big time PDSD
- Big time Paul Dano Sound Delivery?
  
  Post Debate Stress Disorder
  After 2016 it’s just been a lot of night terrors, occasional screaming bouts, random sweating.
  Suffice to say, I’m really not looking forward to not one but two more of these exercises in horrifying pointlessness.

With a pad and a pen and a bottle of water. All this, I seek, I find I push the envelope to the line Make it, break it, take it Until I'm overrated!

It would be hilarious if they both shit their diapers at the same time.
- Not if... When.

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