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Debate Commission Acknowledges ‘Issues’ With Donald Trump’s Audio

The Commission on Presidential Debates said that there were “issues” with Donald Trump’s audio that affected sound within the hall at Monday’s first presidential debate.

In a one sentence statement, the commission said, “Regarding the first debate, there were issues regarding Donald Trump’s audio that affected the sound level in the debate hall.” The commission did not elaborate.

Immediately after the debate, Trump complained to reporters that they “gave me a defective mic.”

“Was that on purpose?” Trump asked, adding that the mic wasn’t “working properly within the room.”

The audio problems did not appear to be noticeable on the TV feed. The statement did not specify whether the audio issues were mic issues.

Audio issues have been an issue in debates of the past. In 1976, at the first debate between Jimmy Carter and President Gerald Ford, an audio failure halted the event for 27 minutes before technicians repaired it.

According to Time, its “reporter was the designated pool reporter in the hall Monday night and observed that the audio volume as Trump spoke fluctuated, making him sound quieter on stage. Clinton’s microphone didn’t suffer the same issue.”

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