Biden campaign reverses course after agreeing to ‘earpiece check,’ Trump reps claim – with just hours to go before debate

US President Donald Trump's campaign has accused his Democratic rival Joe Biden of reneging on a promise to submit to an “earpiece check” ahead of Tuesday’s presidential debates – a claim Biden’s manager called “absurd.”

Biden’s “handlers” consented to an independent peek into both candidates’ ears ahead of the debates on Tuesday, the Trump campaign claimed, accusing the Biden campaign of having “abruptly reversed themselves and declined” the inspection with just hours left to go before both politicians take the stage in Cleveland.

“On top of the refusal to take a drug test, it seems pretty obvious that the Biden team is looking for any safety net they can find in the hours leading up to the debate,” Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh told Fox News. “With his 47 years as a failed Washington politician, how much help does Biden want?”

The Democrat’s campaign has flatly denied asking for breaks or other special treatment, calling the Trump campaign's earpiece allegations "absurd" in a call with reporters on Tuesday. Deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield attempted to turn the attack back on the incumbent, suggesting Trump's campaign “seems concerned that he may not do well tonight and they’re already laying the groundwork for how they’re going to lie about why.”

Tuesday’s debate, the first of three scheduled ahead of the November 3 election, is set to run 90 minutes without a break. According to Fox News, the Biden campaign requested two breaks, which the Trump campaign refused to grant, boasting about the president’s marathon addresses: “he gives 90-minute speeches all the time.” The outlet's sources claimed as of Tuesday afternoon that the particulars of the debate were still being hammered out.

Trump slammed his rival on Monday for refusing to submit to a drug test, volunteering to take one himself as he speculated the Democrat was only able to string a sentence together with the help of performance-enhancing pharmaceuticals. While Biden himself has declined to address the drug allegations, his campaign sniffed that the candidate "intends to deliver his answer [to debate questions] in words," rather than "in urine."

Each candidate would be the oldest president in US history if elected and each has faced accusations they're mentally unfit for office. However, while Trump has been campaigning in person as much as the Covid-19 pandemic permits, Biden has been seen infrequently outside the basement studio from which he broadcasts during media appearances, fueling speculation all is not well with the former vice president.

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