Trump, Biden To Have Microphones Muted In Final Debate When Rival Makes Opening Remarks

President Donald Trump and his Democrat rival Joe Biden will each have their microphones muted while the other is delivering their opening remarks at the final presidential debate on Thursday, the Associated Press reports.

What Happened: The 90-minute debate, beginning at 9 p.m. ET, will be held at the Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and moderated by NBC News journalist Kristen Welker, according to the Commission On Presidential Debates.

The debate is divided into six 15-minute segments and each candidate will get two minutes to deliver uninterrupted remarks before an open debate without the mute button commences, the Press reported.

Interruptions by either side in the open debate portion will reportedly not be counted towards their time.

Why It Matters: The rule changes for the final debate were announced by the commission on Monday after frequent interruptions, primarily by Trump, marked the opening of the first debate held last month, the Press noted. 

The commission described the changes as “measures intended to promote adherence to agreed upon rules,” and said it was  “inappropriate to make changes to those rules.”