[COBOL2Java]

One thing which concerned me was the announcement from the debate commission that they’d like the ability to turn off a debater’s microphone.

If that was attempted in an auditorium, Trump could still be heard. But if it was a 100% virtual debate, and the moderator turned off Trump’s mike, then the President would be denied the ability to rebut.

I would guess that the risks for a virtual debate were too high to accept.

[ClearCase_guy]

If they ever go in the direction of shutting off microphones, it needs to be like a chess clock — each candidate gets 40 minutes. No more. No less. Moderator gets 10 minutes to ask questions. The clock is ticking while you speak. You stop your clock when you turn off your own mic. Or someone else shuts you off.

I think it is a fair observation that Democrats always get more time to speak than Republicans. If the moderator gets unilateral power to shut off mics, this disparity will become more extreme.

[VetoBill]

If Trump did agree to the virtual debate, he needs to livestream his end to a 3rd party website. 100% moderators will completely cut Trump off otherwise.

[Engedi]

And they could take him off the screen. Can you imagine the imagery of blackout of President leaving Biden in full screen?

They could have offered alternative, like outside debate in warm climate state.

[gogeo]

The Left wants to control the discourse by controlling the means of discourse. We see it in the MSM, we see it online with Facebook and Twitter and Instagram. We see it in the streets with Antifa and BLM. We see it in the schools at all levels.

The Left can't win an argument unless it's rigged.