In an effort to avoid the debacle of the first United States presidential debate, organisers have decided that President Donald Trump and Joe Biden will have their microphones muted for portions of the next one.

According to The New York Times, the final debate will see each candidate allotted two minutes to initially answer the moderator's questions, during which the other candidate will be muted.

Once their two-minute reply has finished, Trump and Biden will then be able to engage freely with each other.

CNN reported that the decision by the debate commission was arrived at unanimously, with both candidate's campaigns agreeing as well.

"This is not a change to rules, but rather a move to promote adherence to rules," said a source close to the commission.

The commission said it acted out of concern that the first debate had fallen short, “depriving voters of the opportunity to be informed of the candidates’ positions on the issues.

The commission also acknowledged that decision, announced to both candidates at short notice, may not have fully satisfied all parties.

Trump campaign called muting mics "unacceptable"

Trump's campaign had made earlier appeals against any changes to the debate, according to CNN.

This included a letter written by Trump's campaign manager Bill Stepien called the muting of microphones "unacceptable".

"A decision to proceed with that change amounts to turning further editorial control of the debate over to the Commission which has already demonstrated its partiality to Biden," he wrote.

Stepien also took issue with the debate's topics which were announced last week which were not focused on foreign policy.

The topics instead are as follows: "Fighting Covid-19", "American families", "race in America", "climate change", "national security", and "leadership".

The New York Times reported Biden's campaign as responding to the letter by saying that Trump was "afraid to face more questions about his disastrous Covid response."

They also pointed out that both campaigns had agreed months in advance that the debate moderator would choose the topics.

The final debate

While the commission are hoping to avoid the incoherence of the first debate — which saw Trump and eventually Biden repeatedly interrupt their rival — The New York Times wrote on the potential for a new hiccup: one candidate's voice may still be picked up by the other's microphone.

This may mean viewers will still hear any attempted interruptions, albeit faintly.

The second scheduled debate was called off after Trump, who had been diagnosed with Covid-19, refused to participate in a virtual event.

Thursday's debate will thus be the final presidential debate before Americans head to the polls.

Top image from Getty