NBC’s Chuck Todd criticized the Biden campaign, saying their debate rules are helping former President Trump look “more presidential.”
The debates will have no audience, and candidates’ microphones will be muted when it’s not their turn to speak. These rules were pushed by the Biden campaign.
“This is a big risk for Team Biden,” Todd said on MSNBC. “They want a different experience than the last debates. Ironically, the last debate might have been Biden’s best because Trump’s behavior hurt him. Now, the Biden campaign is making rules that make Trump look more presentable?”
Todd questioned the Biden campaign’s motives. “It’s puzzling that they created an environment that makes Trump seem more presidential.”
NBC’s Chuck Todd suggested that the muted microphones will help Trump by preventing a repeat of his interruptive 2020 debate performance. In that debate, Trump’s behavior was seen as a turn-off to voters, making Biden look better.
Trump’s inability to feed off an audience might also calm him down.
In May, President Biden challenged Trump to two presidential debates. The first debate will be hosted by CNN and shown on Fox News Channel.
Besides no audience and muted mics, CNN’s rules include both candidates standing behind podiums without props or prepared notes. The 90-minute debate will have two commercial breaks, and candidates can’t consult with their teams during these breaks.
Former President Trump and President Biden will be on the same stage for the first time since 2020 at the CNN Presidential Debate.
The debate will be moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, both of whom have been critical of Trump.
Trump recently said there’s a “10% chance” CNN will be fair to him.
“I think it’s important to have a debate,” Trump said on Logan Paul’s podcast. “They asked, ‘You want to debate?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ Then they said CNN is involved, but let’s see what happens. I used to get along with Jake Tapper. We’ll see what happens.”
