The mute button, or at least the threat of it, worked well this time as US President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden showed restraint and civility during the last presidential debate, unlike their first encounter when they frequently spoke over each other, creating chaos at times. Far from their raucous first meeting in Ohio that led organisers to introduce the mute button, the second and final debate between Trump and Biden at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, on Thursday night was less fury and more urgency.

In the first presidential debate last month, Trump, 74, and Biden, 77, fiercely clashed over a number of issues, including the pandemic, racism, economy and climate, marked by angry interruptions and bitter accusations.