Washington.- The campaigns of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are sparring ahead of their high-stakes Sept. 10 debate over whether microphones should be muted except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak.
While it is common for campaigns to discuss debate mechanics beforehand, both Harris and Trump are under pressure to perform well next month in Philadelphia. The first debate during this campaign prompted President Joe Biden to drop out of the race.
On Sunday night, Trump raised the possibility of skipping the ABC debate, posting on his Truth Social network that he had watched the network’s Sunday show with a “so-called Trump Enemies Panel” and posited, “Why would I debate Kamala Harris on that network?” and urged his supporters to “Stay tuned!!”
The current dispute centers on muting microphones when a candidate is not speaking, a condition that both Biden and Trump agreed to during their June debate hosted by CNN. Both sides accuse each other of gaming the system to protect their candidate.
Biden’s campaign muted the microphone as a condition of agreeing to any debate this year, and some advisers now regret the decision, saying voters were protected from hearing Trump’s debate outbursts. But that move likely wouldn’t have helped the Democrat’s disastrous performance.
Harris’ campaign now wants microphones on at all times, according to Harris spokesman Brian Fallon, who issued a statement criticizing Trump.
“Trump’s advisers prefer the microphone muted because they don’t believe their nominee can act as president for 90 minutes on his own,” Fallon said. Harris “is ready to deal with Trump’s constant lies and interruptions in real time. Trump should stop hiding behind the mute button.”
Trump spokesman Jason Miller countered that the Republican candidate had “agreed to the ABC debate on exactly the same terms as the CNN debate.” He alleged that Harris’s representatives were seeking “a sit-down debate, with notes and opening statements.”
Miller then criticized Harris for not attending an interview or holding a press conference since Biden ended his reelection bid and endorsed her, arguing that his campaign now wants to “give her a cheat sheet for the debate.”
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