The campaigns of US Vice President Kamala Harris and former US President Donald Trump are arguing in advance of their September 10 debate over whether microphones should be muted except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak, The Associated Press reported Monday.
Trump on Sunday night raised the possibility that he might not show up to the September 10 debate which is to air on ABC, posting on his Truth Social network that he had watched the network’s Sunday show with a “so-called Panel of Trump Haters” and posited, “why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?” and urging followers to “Stay tuned!!”
The current dispute centers on the muting of microphones when a candidate isn’t speaking, a condition that both President Joe Biden and Trump accepted for their June debate hosted by CNN. Biden’s poor performance in that debate ultimately led to Biden withdrawing from the race.
Biden’s campaign team made microphone muting a condition of its decision to accept any debates this year, and some aides now regret the decision, saying voters were shielded from hearing Trump’s outbursts during the debate. That move likely would not have helped Biden’s disastrous performance.
The Harris campaign now wants microphones to be live all the time, according to Harris spokesman Brian Fallon.
“Trump’s handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don’t think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own,” Fallon said, adding that 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 retorted that the Republican nominee had “accepted the ABC debate under the exact same terms as the CNN debate.” He alleged Harris’ representatives sought “a seated debate, with notes, and opening statements.”
Trump earlier this month said he accepted two other proposed debates with Harris, one on September 4 on Fox News and another on September 25 on NBC News.
On the vice presidential front, Harris’ running mate Tim Walz and Trump’s running mate JD Vance have agreed to participate in an October 1 debate hosted by CBS News.