The microphone was muted, as was the presenter.
Despite the CNN logo filling viewers' screens and the network's constant promotion of Thursday's primetime debate between President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump, hosts Jake Tapper and Dana Bash kept a largely invisible presence during their hosting.
There was virtually no real-time fact-checking of Trump's many unfounded claims — in tense moments, the hosts deferred to the candidates to address each other's allegations directly — and concerns that Trump might get into a show-stopping altercation with his CNN interlocutor proved unfounded.
Tapper's name was mentioned just twice in the 90 minutes, and Bash's was not mentioned once.
CNN made it clear in advance that its hosts would act as facilitators, not participants — Chairman Mark Thompson called Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump “the stars of the show” — and in that respect the network succeeded.
Whether viewers agreed with this approach may depend on their partisan leanings, but some Biden supporters were quick to complain that the host was leaving too many falsehoods unsaid.
But the unusual format of the debate – the first in decades to be controlled entirely by a single television station – was fully negotiated and agreed to by both sides.
Trump has a history of dominating debates and heckling moderators, but he displayed new discipline on Thursday, rarely interrupting his opponent or the CNN moderator, resulting in little chatter or disruption that would have the moderator interrupt him.
The technical aspects of the broadcast seemed to have a bigger impact than the questions and follow-ups posed by the moderator.
The decision to mute microphones when the candidates were not up to speak was made at the insistence of senior Biden aides, who complained that Trump had broken ground rules during the pair's first debate in 2020.
But during Thursday's speech, the mute feature seemed to suit Trump's TV skills: His bombastic rants, ignored facts and context, stood in stark contrast to Biden's rambling, choppy responses, who was better at cramming short audio segments into the time allotted to him.
The hosts declined to press Mr. Trump on his outlandish falsehoods, and Mr. Biden often missed opportunities to do so. When Mr. Trump suggested, without evidence, that Mr. Biden had encouraged Vladimir V. Putin to launch a military attack, it was up to the current president to deny the allegation, which he simply called “bullshit.”
There was further questioning afterwards, notably when Bash pressed Trump three times whether he would accept the results of the November election. Trump refused to answer the question directly all three times.
And at one point Tapper encouraged Trump to attempt even a half-hearted answer to a question posed by the anchor.
“So, President Trump, you have 67 seconds,” Tapper said dryly, after Trump made a sidenote about China and described Biden as the “Manchurian Candidate.” “The question is: What are you going to do to help Americans who are struggling with addiction right now and not getting the treatment they need?”
There was a moment earlier in the night when Trump came close to breaking the rules: Visibly frustrated, he tried to refute Biden's response on abortion, but his microphone was muted and viewers at home couldn't hear him. The camera cut to Tapper, who moved on to the next question.
When Trump re-emerged, he did something many of his regular viewers might not be accustomed to: He was silent.