Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson The Commission on Presidential Debates confirmed on Friday that there were problems with Donald Trump's microphone during the first debate earlier this week.

After what many political observers regarded as a poor performance by the Republican presidential nominee on Monday night, Trump pointed to microphone issues and theorized that he was given faulty equipment on purpose.

"They also had — gave me a defective mic," Trump told reporters after the debate. "Did you notice that? My mic was defective within the room. ... I wonder, was that on purpose? Was that on purpose?"

The debate commission issued its brief statement on Friday confirming audio issues with Trump's microphone, but it did not provide many details.

"Regarding the first debate, there were issues regarding Donald Trump's audio that affected the sound level in the debate hall," the statement said.

The day after the debate, Trump said his microphone was "going on and off," and that its volume was lower than that of the mic Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton had. He also complained of a crackling sound.