Donald Trump claims he 'easily won' last debate and says rules shouldn't be changed

The commission may give moderators the power to cut candidates’ microphones off if they break rules

Donald Trump claims he “easily won” Tuesday night’s presidential debate against his rival in the 2020 US election, Joe Biden.  

Mr Trump made the claim in a tweet on Thursday in which he disagreed with calls to change the rules for the remaining two debates.  

“Why would I allow the Debate Commission to change the rules for the second and third Debates when I easily won last time?” Mr Trump tweeted.  

On Wednesday, the commission that oversees the presidential debates during the general election said it planned to change the format of the remaining two debates.

The commission said it would consider cutting the microphones of Mr Trump and Mr Biden if they break the rules of the debate, according to a source familiar with the deliberations that spoke with CBS News.  

According to the source, there have been no final decisions made regarding rule changes at the next debate.  

The announcement was made after the first debate, during which Mr Trump consistently talked over and interrupted Mr Biden and ignored instructions from moderator Chris Wallace.  

In a statement released just after Tuesday's event, it said the 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."

It commended Mr Wallace for his participation and said it "intends to ensure that additional tools to maintain order are in place for the remaining debates."

Tim Murtaugh, the communications director for Mr Trump's campaign, criticised the suggested rule changes and painted the issue as politically motivated.  

"They're only doing this because their guy got pummelled last night," he said in a statement. "President Trump was the dominant force and now Joe Biden is trying to work the refs. They shouldn't be be moving goalposts and changing the rules in the middle of the game."  

Mr Murtaugh believes that forcing, rather than asking, a candidate to adhere to the debate's rules is an attempt at cheating.  

Outside of the ring-wing media universe, many analysts argued that Mr Biden came out on top in the debate, if for no other reason than not appearing as brash, out of control and defensive as Mr Trump did to many during the debate.  

The president was also heavily criticised - even by his own party - for failing to condemn white supremacy and for telling SPLC-designated hate group the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” rather than denouncing them.  

Mr Trump made the comment while attempting to redirect attention to left wing activists.  

“Proud Boys — stand back and stand by. But I’ll tell you what, I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left,” Mr Trump said.