House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Thursday that President Trump should let his Democratic rival Joseph R. Biden speak as much as possible in the forthcoming debates, predicting that a diminished Mr. Biden is more likely to self-destruct without interruptions.
“Don’t put a mute button on Joe Biden and for the president. Don’t interrupt him,” Mr. McCarthy, California Republican, said on “Fox & Friends.” “Because every time I watched him speaking, he couldn’t finish [his] sentence.”
“You looked into his eye,” he continued. “I’ve spent a lot of time with Joe Biden when he was vice president. This is not the same man that I used to have breakfast with.”
The panel that oversees the presidential debates is weighing changes after Tuesday’s unwieldy affair in Cleveland.
The Commission on Presidential Debates could give the moderator the power to cut a candidate’s microphone if they interrupt or go past their allotted speaking time.
“Of course, they want to change the rules — anything that gives Joe Biden some type of advantage,” Mr. McCarthy said.
“If you’re going to run for the free leader of this world, we want to hear what you say,” he said. “But now we’re going to let one person, [a] moderator, to determine what the American people can hear from our candidates?”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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