Are there any rules against earpieces in the debate? If so do they actually check for them?

[boomer55]

I cant imagine der Trumpenfurer surviving 90 minutes without someone giving him instructions via an earpiece.

[Xipe Totec]

1. Do you really think he listens to anybody? nt

[boomer55]

2. LOL...no but he never used to use a teleprompter either. :)

[bettyellen]

3. And since Bush got away with it, he could try too.

[yeoman6987]

6. This whole thing is ridiculous

Both sides blame the other. They were saying Hillary had one on during the townhall. She didn't.

[anneboleyn]

8. The claims about HRC were/are ridiculous. Clinton needs ZERO "help" debating. With Bush

I wondered at the time if he has wearing an earpiece BEFORE it became a theory (it took a little bit longer for Internet theories to blow up in those days!) because his behavior was so odd during that debate compared to the earlier debates (at least it seemed to me so at the time). He was slower answering questions, and then there were pictures in which there seemed to be a rectangular shaped hump under his suit, on his upper back. But it didn't matter -- Bush still got elected.

With Trump I think it's even worse since his followers are so insane about him -- Kellyanne and the rest of that lying bunch would find some way to make it a "positive" for Trump: "See! Mr. Trump DOES listen to the help/advice of others! He thinks that these issues are SO important that he wanted the input of others! See, this proves that Trump is a political outsider!" Etc etc etc.

Hillary of course has been debating for years, knows her policies very thoroughly, can answer any question to do with international affairs since she knows who the leaders are and has interacted with them (as we know she didn't meet Putin in a green room or whatever Trump's stupid story was about Putin), and she can speak effectively. The nuts claiming that she had an earpiece were just bitter b/c their candidate is nearly illiterate and repeats the same silly phrases over and over and over and blathers "believe me" and "yuuuuge" and "powerful."

[tandem5]

10. He could playback a recording of himself:

"You're doing great Donald! No, you're the best! Or at least one of the best, trust me -- you're doing wonderfully. Now talk about your big, yuge hands!"

[louis-t]

4. Watch his facial expressions.

Odds are, he can't talk and listen at the same time. He can't even listen at the same time.

[Reiyuki]

5. It's an interesting possibility

Last edited Tue Sep 20, 2016, 07:38 PM - Edit history (1)

I suspect they've been used off-and-on by various candidates over the past 20-30 years. The reason nobody questions this is because it honestly does not help much, and can hurt more than help if it's relied on too heavily.

They start to get noticeable delays when receiving their prompts, they're more likely to flub a line or have poor delivery, and the more they rely on it, the less effective they are at thinking on their feet.

You have to listen for prompter-like speech, where every sentence is delivered with a breath every 5-10 words. Something like: "And we must always make sure (breath) to ensure that our troops (breath) are always treated with respect". Watch Bush Jr. back in the '04 presidential debates and you'll get a pretty good idea of what that looks like.

(Disclaimer, I have no 100% proof of any candidate using earpieces other than what I perceive to be staggered, unnatural speech patterns.)

[tavernier]

7. And the big square pack on his back

under his jacket. He may as well have been wearing a helmet.

[4nic8em]

9. I just had a flashback...

"wanna buy some wood?"