US Elections 2020: Netizens spotted what appears to be a 'microphone' and a 'wire' worn by Biden during the presidential debate on Tuesday.
Joe Biden condemns Donald Trump's rhetoric.
It’s very difficult to imagine that a presidential candidate could covertly wear an earpiece during a one-on-one presidential debate, and receive answers throughout, without their opponent or anyone else noticing.
Ahead of the first general election presidential debate Tuesday night, an exceptionally silly news cycle took place, involving that old standby-the idea that one presidential candidate had used, or planned to use, an earpiece during the debate, in order to illegally get help from advisors as to how to answer the questions.
It was reported Tuesday morning that President Trump had asked for a new ground rule ahead of the debate: That the candidates “allow a third party to inspect the ears of each debater for electronic devices or transmitters.” Fox was also told that the campaign of former Vice President Joe Biden had agreed “several days ago” to the pre-debate inspection but had then “abruptly reversed themselves,” Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh told the outlet according to IBTimes.
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A Biden campaign spokesperson, Kate Bedingfield, said that the request was “absurd,” and also denied an assertion by Murtaugh that the campaign had asked for a pair of thirty-minute breaks during the debate.
Traditionally, presidential campaigns, along with the Commission on Presidential Debates, reach agreements weeks or months in advance about the format and ground rules of debates. The issue of breaks, in particular, would probably have been agreed upon well in advance with the TV networks airing the debate.
Even so, the baseless assertion that Biden would be using an earpiece during a debate, in order to cheat, is a very familiar one. In 2016, per Snopes, a conspiracy theory made the rounds online alleging that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton had used an earpiece, or perhaps a “coughing prevention machine,” during her first debate with Trump. There was a similar allegation, also debunked by Snopes, that President Barack Obama had used an earpiece in a 2012 debate with Mitt Romney.
It’s very difficult to imagine that a presidential candidate could covertly wear an earpiece during a one-on-one presidential debate, and receive answers throughout, without their opponent or anyone else noticing. Especially since such things have been noticed during so many debates before.
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