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Next Presidential Debate Is Using Preschool Rules to Adjust to SOMEONE’S Level of Maturity

Muting microphones? What next? Are they going to use a talking stick?

By Oct 20th, 2020, 1:00 pm

Donald Trump gestures during the presidential debate.

Our next presidential debate is going the preschool rules route, meaning that they’re going to mute microphones when someone isn’t talking. Remember in preschool when we all learned to take turns and that if it wasn’t your turn to speak, you had to wait? I guess Donald Trump skipped that day.

The Commission on Presidential Debates released the news that the upcoming debate will provide President Trump and former Vice President (and Democratic nominee) Joe Biden two minutes of uninterrupted time to answer during their allotted two minutes.

“The only candidate whose microphone will be open during these two-minute periods is the candidate who has the floor under the rules,” the commission stated, and honestly, I have to laugh. This is the same philosophy employed by my preschool in the basement of a church in New Castle, PA.

Basically, if you were trying to talk and it was someone else’s turn, they made you either have a time out, or the talking stick would be used, and if you didn’t have it in your hand and you spoke, you’d get in trouble. And for someone like me (who likes to talk a lot), it was hard, but I learned when I could and could not speak.

Donald Trump clearly skipped that day of school because … look, they’re being nice about how they’re wording it, but it’s because Trump wouldn’t let Biden speak last time. He just kept talking over Biden to the point where Biden said, “Will you just shut up, man?” on live television.

So sure, this tactic is so both get uninterrupted time, but it’s because Trump wouldn’t shut up.

I don’t think this is going to go over well because Trump shutting up? I don’t think he understands that idea. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has some stunt where he takes out a megaphone and starts just yelling “wrong” over things because he’s a child.

I’m glad this is happening even if the second debate should have happened virtually (which has been DONE BEFORE), but hopefully, this helps the debate actually work instead of Trump just continually going on and on about nonsense—at least confining him to doing that in his own allotted time.

(image: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. A writer her whole life but professionally starting back in 2016 who loves all things movies, TV, and classic rock. Resident Spider-Man expert, official Leslie Knope, actually Yelena Belova. Wanda Maximoff has never done anything wrong in her life. Star Wars makes her very happy. New York writer with a passion for all things nerdy. Yes, she has a Pedro Pascal podcast. And also a Harrison Ford one.