The Trump campaign is advocating for a system where each candidate’s microphone is muted when it’s not their turn to speak, similar to the setup used during Trump’s June debate with President Biden on CNN. In contrast, the Harris campaign is pushing for both candidates’ microphones to remain live throughout the debate.
“We have told ABC and other networks seeking to host a possible October debate that we believe both candidates’ mics should be live throughout the full broadcast,” Harris spokesperson Brian Fallon stated. “Our understanding is that Trump’s handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don’t think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own.
Fallon further speculated that Trump’s team might be avoiding informing the former president about this issue, suggesting it would be too embarrassing for Trump to admit he might struggle against Harris without the mute button. “The Vice President is prepared to address Trump’s interruptions and falsehoods in real time. Trump should stop hiding behind the mute button,” Fallon added.
Senior Trump adviser Jason Miller responded by rejecting any changes to the agreed-upon rules from the CNN debate.
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“This seems to be a pattern for the Harris campaign. They won’t allow Harris to do interviews, they won’t allow her to do press conferences, and now they want to give her a cheat-sheet for the debate. My guess is that they’re looking for a way to get out of any debate with President Trump,” he said.
“Clearly, they’re seeing something they don’t like,” Miller commented.
Some allies of President Biden have suggested that muting the microphones during the June debate may have benefitted Trump. They contend that the setup allowed him to repeat debunked claims without immediate challenge from Biden or the moderators, while also shielding viewers from the interruptions that typically undermine his debate performances.
The debate over microphone rules has sparked new uncertainty about whether the debate scheduled for September 10 will proceed as planned. Initially, Trump agreed to a debate with Biden on ABC News. However, after Biden was replaced by Harris as the Democratic nominee, Trump withdrew and questioned the likelihood of debating Harris.
The two sides later reached an agreement to hold the debate with ABC News. Trump had also pushed for additional debates on Fox News, but the Harris campaign stated it would only agree to the ABC News debate before considering other options.
Late on Sunday evening, Trump raged over the network’s broadcast of “This Week,” which included critical panelists and an interview between host Jonathan Karl and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) that Trump deemed “biased.”
“Why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?” Trump questioned on Truth Social.
The debate is set to take place in Philadelphia and will be moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis, according to ABC News.
