Donald J. Trump appeared to have an advantage in his first debate with President Biden on Thursday thanks to strict rules barring the kind of interruptions that tripped up the former president four years ago, drawing attention to the sitting president’s frequent stumbles.
Each candidate agreed to a set of rules that would allow debate moderator CNN to mute their microphones when they were not speaking, a rule Biden’s team had pushed for to guard against Trump’s habit of interrupting his opponents during debates.
But Trump was clearly prepared to operate within those guardrails.
While Biden answered the opening question, Trump remained silent behind the podium for the entire two minutes his opponent was allowed to respond, then when it was Trump’s turn to respond he spoke in a calm, measured and controlled voice.
Trump’s restraint became clear minutes later when Biden criticized him about the number of soldiers who have died during his term in office.
“The fact is, I’m the only president this century, this decade, who has had no soldiers killed anywhere in the world like he has,” Biden said.
Instead of yelling or interrupting, Trump pursed his lips and waited for Biden to finish.
“Can I respond to him?” Trump asked the moderator.
CNN anchor and debate moderator Jake Tapper said he could do so during a follow-up.
Biden’s missteps were especially stark because the former president was restricted from interrupting.
Biden advocated for higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans, but then he paused and appeared to lose his train of thought.
“We can wipe out his debt,” Biden said, explaining how higher taxes on the wealthy would raise federal revenue. “We can help make sure we do all the things we need to do, like continue to strengthen our child care, elderly care, health care system, and make sure everybody has access to the same things we’ve done with COVID, no, no, everything that we’ve had to do if we beat Medicare.”
Trump patiently waited for the microphone to be turned on before pouncing on it.
“Well, he defeated Medicare, he defeated it big time. So he ended that sentence right. It’s a shame,” Trump said.
