Trump campaign press secretary Hogan Gidley dodged on Thursday morning when asked if President Donald Trump will comply with the rules allowing each candidate two minutes of uninterrupted speaking time, which will be enforced by muting the other person’s mic, during his final debate with Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
“No red-blooded American is going to stand by anyone and allow them to lie about them. The President’s not going to let Joe Biden do that,” Gidley told MSNBC anchor Hallie Jackson after she pressed him on the issue.
“So that sounds like you’re saying the President’s not going to let Joe Biden have his two minutes,” Jackson replied.
“I didn’t say that. I’m just saying the President is a counter-puncher,” the campaign spokesperson said. “And if you’re going to lie about him he’s going to call you out for it.”
“We’ll wait and see what happens in this debate,” he added. “The President wants to abide by the rules, but if Joe Biden’s not going to be truthful, then the President’s going to tell him about it.”
On Monday, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) announced that one candidate’s mic will be muted while the other speaks during each person’s two-minute window at the beginning of each 15-minute segment of the debate. The new rule came after Trump was widely panned for constantly interrupting Biden during the first debate last month.
Trump, who has been baselessly accusing the CPD of being biased against him, complained on Wednesday that the commission’s decision was “very unfair.”
Watch Gidley below:
Trump campaign won't say if POTUS will let Biden speak uninterrupted during the final debate. pic.twitter.com/HT3R7mojWZ
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) October 22, 2020
