In the weeks leading up to and even hours before the debate, the Trump and Biden campaigns have been arguing over different last-minute requests brought up by each party. These requests include drug tests before and after the debate, forbidden questions, and more. This was all revealed in a statement from the Trump Campaign’s Communication Director Tim Murtaugh on Twitter:
Joe Biden’s handlers several days ago agreed to a pre-debate inspection for electronic earpieces but today abruptly reversed themselves & declined…
Biden asked for multiple breaks during the debate, which President Trump doesn’t need, so we have rejected that request…
Joe Biden’s handlers several days ago agreed to a pre-debate inspection for electronic earpieces but today abruptly reversed themselves & declined. Biden asked for multiple breaks during the debate, which President Trump doesn’t need, so we have rejected that request.
Statement: pic.twitter.com/yIXd0TVWgi
— Tim Murtaugh (@TimMurtaugh) September 29, 2020
Joe Biden’s campaign tweeted a photo before the debate, mocking the suggestion that he needed an earpiece or enhancement drugs to pull him through the debate:
It’s debate night, so I’ve got my earpiece and performance enhancers ready. pic.twitter.com/EhOiWdjh1b
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 29, 2020
Following the debate, a video was being widely shared that showed Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden reaching into his jacket, and afterward, a black line appears on his shirt. Many on social media are claiming it’s a wire. A male voice in the video can be heard accusing Joe Biden of wearing in the video.
https://twitter.com/MichaelCoudrey/status/1311334093167026176?s=20
We’re not making any claims about whether Joe Biden was or was not wearing a wire during the debate. We are simply sharing the video that’s circulating around on social media and asking our readers to come to their own conclusions.
In Reuters fact-check claim they write that the object that appears to look like a wire to many on Joe Bidens shirt, is “likely” a crease in his shirt:
The mark on Biden’s shirt appears to be a crease, rather than a wire, as seen in this higher quality CNN video of the moment (see around 34:37 minute mark here:  rb.gy/54tmp1 ), which disappears a few seconds later when he moves. This higher-quality photo also shows that the mark is likely a shirt crease. T
Reuters also adds a link to a Twitter account to back up their fact-check claim that trashes President Trump and his supporters, saying “For all the awful shit Trump said in the debate” that went on to mock his supporters, as evidence that anyone who claimed Joe Biden was wearing a wire is lying.
For all the awful shit Trump said in the debate his supporters were more concerned with a crease in Biden’s shirt and Rosary beads.
They’d rather believe conspiracy theories about Biden than acknowledge Trump is a monster. pic.twitter.com/6n0ZkkkPtF— Nick (@DakotasStorm) September 30, 2020
USA Today claims that although the Biden campaign has not responded to their request about whether or not Biden was wearing a wire, that anyone claiming Biden is wearing a wire is making a false accusation.
USA Today writes:
Our rating: False
We rate the claim that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden wore a wire at the debate Tuesday as FALSE because it was not supported by our research. A high-resolution video of the exchange shows the dark line is a crease in Biden’s shirt, and what social media users speculated was a microphone on his wrist was probably a rosary.