Debate planners vow less chaos at next face-off
JOHNSTOWN, PA., /DULUTH, MN - US presidential debate organisers vowed on Wednesday to change the rules to rein in unruly behaviour after President Donald Trump repeatedly interrupted rival Joe Biden and the moderator in the candidates’ tauntfilled initial prime-time encounter.
Mr Biden suggested a mute button might help and Mr Trump complained the Commission on Presidential Debates was siding with the Democrats in the aftermath of Tuesday’s debate in Cleveland.
The 90-minute face-off triggered widespread criticism of Mr Trump and, to a lesser extent, Mr Biden.
The Republican president repeatedly bullied Mr Biden and questioned his intelligence, while the Democratic nominee called Mr Trump a racist, a liar and the worst president ever.
Mr Biden’s campaign raised nearly $10 million during the debate, a campaign aide said, adding to the Democrat’s financial advantage with five weeks to go until the November 3 election.
The former vice president has held a modest but steady lead in national voter surveys for months, although opinion polls in the battleground states that traditionally decide elections show a closer contest.
Mr Biden went on a day-long whistle-stop train tour through two tops critical to his election, Ohio and Pennsylvania, concluding the day in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, with remarks attacking Mr Trump for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
In Alliance, Ohio, Mr Biden urged Americans to vote for him in large numbers to eliminate any possibility of Mr Trump trying to stay in the White House if he lost the election.