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Bill Kelly: The presidential debate debacle

President Donald Trump holds up his face mask during the first presidential debate Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

The Debates Commission, which oversees the presidential debates in the United States, announced Wednesday that it would make changes to the debate protocol before the next scheduled debate in the middle of October.

Frankly, they’re a day late and a dollar short. Tuesday’s debate debacle had to be one of the most embarrassing moments in American political history.

READ MORE: ‘It was sad’ — U.S. voters criticize ‘unseemly’ first debate between Trump, Biden

It was obvious that Donald Trump chose to employ all the gimmicks he learned during his time appearing at WWE pro-wrestling matches.

He was loud, rude and nonsensical, just like the bombastic behemoths who grab the mic and drone on in the centre of the ring at WWE events.

And sadly, moderator Chris Wallace played the role of the hapless referee, who pretends to try to get the bad guy to play by the rules, but never succeeds.

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It was all theatrics — and really bad theatrics at that.

Click to play video: 'Trump says he ‘really enjoyed’ U.S. presidential debate against Joe Biden'
Trump says he ‘really enjoyed’ U.S. presidential debate against Joe Biden

But most of all, it was a desecration of the democratic political process, which sadly, seems to be Trump’s primary objective for the past four years.

The Debate Commission needs to make drastic alterations to ensure that American voters can make an informed choice in November.

Given Trump’s performance, civility is probably too much to ask, but it should shoot for some level of credibility at least.

Bill Kelly is the host of the Bill Kelly Show on Global News Radio 900 CHML.

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