NBC's Chuck Todd took aim at the Biden campaign, accusing them of aiding former President Trump with debate rules that will make him appear "more presidential."
NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd took a swipe at the Biden campaign, arguing it was helping former President Trump appear "more presidential" with its requested debate rules.
The debates will have no audience and candidates' mics will be muted outside of speaking time, both of which the Biden campaign had pushed for.
"This to me, though, is the real risk for Team Biden," Todd said Wednesday on MSNBC. "They so want to have a different experience than the last debate they had with them or the first debate from the last cycle. And ironically, that's the single best debate Biden had, right? Because Trump's behavior really sort of almost cemented Biden's lead by that point and it may have done Trump in at that point. And now here's the Biden campaign trying to come up with a set of rules to make sure Trump seems more presentable?"
"I have to say, when you sort of look at their motivation here and given the experience they had four years ago, it's a head scratcher to me that they went so out of their way to try to create an environment that will make Trump seem more presidential," Todd added.
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Todd seemed to be speculating that the muted microphones will aid the former president as a restraint against a repeat of his bombastic 2020 debate performance where he repeatedly interrupted then-candidate Joe Biden. Trump's demeanor in that first presidential debate was said to have alienated voters while helping Biden appear more sympathetic.
Trump not being able to feed off the energy of an audience could also tone him down.
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In May, President Biden publicly challenged Trump to two presidential debates. The first will be hosted by CNN on Thursday and simulcast on the Fox News Channel.
In addition to no audience and mic cut-offs, CNN's finalized debate rules and format will have both candidates standing behind a podium without any props or prepared notes.
The 90-minute debate will have two commercial breaks, during which the candidates will not be allowed to consult with their teams.
The CNN Presidential Debate will be moderated by anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, both of whom have a long history of hostile coverage towards Trump.
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Trump recently suggested there's a "10% chance" CNN will be fair to him.
"I think that it’s important for there to be a debate. So [the Biden campaign] said, ‘You want to debate?’ 'Yep, I'll accept. You don't even have to tell me.' Then they said CNN, they said the different people that are involved, but let's see what happens. I used to get along with Jake Tapper. We'll see what happens, but it doesn't matter. Whatever it is, it is," Trump said on Logan Paul's podcast on June 13.
The CNN Presidential Debate, which will be simulcast on Fox News Channel, starts at 9 p.m. ET.
Trump and Biden are also set to debate in September on ABC, moderated by anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis.
