The Harris and Trump campaigns are at odds over the terms for their upcoming first presidential debate, with a last-minute demand by Vice President Kamala Harris risking to derail one of the few opportunities for Americans to see both candidates side-by-side.
Politico reports that Harris’ team is insisting on keeping microphones at both podiums live for the full two-hour debate, scheduled for September 10th on ABC News. This request represents a reversal from the Biden campaign’s stance during the June 27th debate, where they pushed for former President Donald Trump’s microphone to be muted. Harris spokesman Brian Fallon argued that Trump’s team should have no issue agreeing to this new condition if they have confidence in their candidate.
“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,” Fallon, the Harris campaign’s senior adviser for communications, told Politico Playbook in a text message Sunday night. “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. We suspect Trump’s team has not even told their boss about this dispute because it would be too embarrassing to admit they don’t think he can handle himself against Vice President Harris without the benefit of a mute button.”
It should be noted that when Trump debated President Joe Biden, their mics were muted when it was not their turn to speak. Not only did Trump abide by those rules, but he also—by most accounts—so handily won that contest that it drove leading Democrats to demand that Biden drop his reelection bid.
Anonymous sources close to Harris said she is more than happy to let President Trump try to interrupt her on stage, suggesting she is excited about the possibility that the former president might lose his cool. “She’s more than happy to have exchanges with him if he tries to interrupt her,” one Harris confidant added. “And given how shook he seems by her, he’s very prone to having intemperate outbursts and … I think the campaign would want viewers to hear [that].”
Trump’s senior advisor, Jason Miller, dismissed the idea that the Republican would engage in Harris’s tactics. He stated that Trump would be prepared to debate whether she is present or not. “Enough with the games. We accepted the ABC debate under the exact same terms as the CNN debate. The Harris camp, after having already agreed to the CNN rules, asked for a seated debate, with notes, and opening statements. We said no changes to the agreed upon rules,” Miller responded.
“If Kamala Harris isn’t smart enough to repeat the messaging points her handlers want her to memorize, that’s their problem. 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 added.
The Harris campaign has been coy about the debate, saying the ground rules were agreed to by the campaign of President Joe Biden, not hers. They also cite Trump’s attempt to shift the debate from ABC, where he is suing network personality and host George Stephanopoulos, to friendlier grounds at Fox News on September 4th with a “full arena audience.” Further, they add, Trump insisted that microphones be left on during the 2020 debate, with then-campaign manager Bill Stepien writing to the Presidential Debates Commission, “It is completely unacceptable for anyone to wield such power. … This is reminiscent of the first debate in 2016, when the President’s microphone was oscillated, and it is not acceptable.”
NBC News has offered a second debate, scheduled for September 25th. Trump has agreed to participate, but Harris has not confirmed yet. Harris’s campaign has stated that she would consider a second presidential debate in October. Additionally, the vice presidential candidates, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are set to debate on October 1st on CBS News.
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.