Making changes in presidential debate structure; says organising body

Commission on Presidential Debate, the body responsible for organizing the US presidential debate, has said that it is carefully considering additional structure to the format to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues. During the first of the three presidential debates in Cleveland, Ohio, on Tuesday night moderated by Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, 74-year-old US President Donald Trump and his 77-year-old Democratic rival Joe Biden traded barbs about each other's families, making it one of the most chaotic White House debates in years.

"Last night's debate made clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues," the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) said in a statement on Wednesday. CPD said it will be carefully considering the changes that it will adopt and announce the measures shortly. The 90-minute debate on Tuesday night is said to be one of the chaotic ones in the history of presidential debates, wherein the two candidates entered into war of words and at times clashed with the moderator.

"The Commission is grateful to Chris Wallace for the professionalism and skill he brought to last night's debate and intends to ensure that additional tools to maintain order are in place for the remaining," the commission said. However, the Trump Campaign has opposed the statement from CPD. "They're only doing this because their guy got pummelled last night. President Trump was the dominant force and now Joe Biden is trying to work the refs. They shouldn't be moving the goalposts and changing the rules in the middle of the game," said Tim Murtaugh, the director for Trump 2020 communication.