In the wake of his bombshell hot mic moment leaked last week, Donald Trump refused to wear a lapel mic during Sunday night's presidential town hall debate.
Frank Fahrenkopf, co-chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates, told CNBC.com that Trump instructed one of the debate's techs not to mic him up prior to going on stage Sunday night at Washington University in St. Louis. Trump had worn a lapel mic during the first debate on Sept. 26, and Hillary Clinton wore one Sunday night, although she could be seen quickly removing it after the debate concluded.
The lapel mic is designed to serve as a backup in the event of a problem with the handheld microphone. Fahrenkopf said that there was an additional handheld microphone under the podium in case of technical difficulties.
Trump's campaign has been shell-shocked by the release of a 2005 recording of him making lewd and sexually aggressive comments during a conversation with former "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush. Following that release, there have been numerous reports about the potential of other damaging hot mic recordings of Trump, especially on the set of "The Apprentice."
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication.