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Twitter Watching the Debate: Why Did No One Mute the Mics?


Last night marked the first presidential debate for the 2020 election. Aside from chilling moments like President Donald Trump’s refusal to denounce white supremacists, Chris Wallace’s failure to pin down any new and vital information from either party, and no progress on COVID policies, Twitter users have a large issue with the constant interruptions by Trump toward both the moderator and Joe Biden, which Slate reports occurred “at least 128 times.”

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Months leading up to the debate, both presidential campaigns agree on a set of rules. One specific rule—that each candidate would have two minutes of uninterrupted time to answer each question—went mostly ignored. Instead, Trump intervened almost every time Biden responded to a question and cut off Wallace each time he tried to get him to respect the rules. Biden also interrupted Trump at times with one-worded remarks. This interruption took place during the entire 90-minute debate, causing many Twitter users to voice their frustration online. The new consensus afterward? Can we please mute the mics next time?

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As Jen Ortiz tweeted, “have we learned nothing from Zoom?”

One hour and 13 minutes into the debate, the moderator reminds the president that he’s been violating the rules he agreed to. — Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) September 30, 2020

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free idea: mute the mics when they're not supposed to be talking have we learned nothing from Zoom — Jen Ortiz (@jenortiznyc) September 30, 2020

MUTE TRUMPS MIC — Parker (@ParkerKitHill) September 30, 2020

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There were always fights in hockey because people in charge allowed fights. There was stupidity in the debate because the debate producers allowed Trump to yell like a tantrum-throwing child. Simply turning off his mic when he broke rules would‘ve spared America this disgrace. — Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) September 30, 2020

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It’s not fair to have the debates conducted in this manner. This was absurd. Mute Trump’s mic if he can’t follow the rules. #Debate2020 #PresidentialDebate — Opal Tometi 🇳🇬🇺🇸 #BlackLivesMatter (@opalayo) September 30, 2020

The constant speaking out of turn made it difficult for viewers to follow along while simultaneously allowing less time for full, thorough responses to be given. Many Twitter users noted that the debate felt more like an argument or quarrel than a productive, political discussion.

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this debate has the vibe of two uncles arguing over who gets to drive the rental car — mike ginn (@shutupmikeginn) September 30, 2020

am i watching a comedy, a horror, a terrible school play, 2 drunk guys arguing outside of a bar, or a presidential debate — scottysire (@ImNotScottySire) September 30, 2020

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The debate sounds like me and my siblings arguing over who has to tell our mom we broke something — kenz (@makenzyelaine) September 30, 2020

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Wallace did not have the authority to cut anyone’s mic and regulations would have to change in order for that to take place before the next debate. An article from the Los Angeles Times in 2016 notes the same issue with interruptions during 2016’s presidential debate between Trump and Hilary Clinton. “Monday night, both candidates interrupted, but Donald Trump interrupted far more eagerly than Hillary Clinton did — 25 times in the first 26 minutes,” Mark Oppenheimer wrote. Twitter, for one, thinks it’s time for stricter rules.

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