Supporters of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are sparring over whether hot mics should be allowed at the presidential debate scheduled for September 10 on ABC.
Politico reported Monday that negotiations over the rule were at a standstill, citing anonymous sources “with knowledge of the matter.”
Unlike President Joe Biden, who dropped out of the race to allow Harris to become the Democratic nominee, the vice president and her team are always eager to keep the mic on.
They believe a silent approach will drag Trump into a situation that is unbecoming of a president.
Harris campaign spokesman Brian Fallon told The Hill, “We have told ABC and other networks that want to host the October debate that both candidates need to be mic’d live for the entire broadcast.”
“Our understanding is that Trump’s handlers prefer muted mics because they don’t think the candidate can act as president for 90 minutes,” Fallon said. “We don’t think Trump’s team has told their bosses about this dispute because it would be too embarrassing to admit that they don’t think they can deal with Vice President Harris without the mute button.”
An anonymous Politico source delved deeper into the strategy. “She’s willing to talk to him if he tries to interrupt her,” the person said. “And given how shocked he is by her, he’s very likely to have a violent outburst… and I think the campaign wants to let their viewers know that.”
But the Trump campaign said it had already approved microphone restrictions for the upcoming showdown — the same ground rules that governed the ill-fated debate between Biden and Trump on CNN in June.
“Enough with the games. We have accepted the ABC debate on the exact same terms as the CNN debate,” Trump senior adviser Jason Miller said in a statement to the outlet. “The Harris camp had already agreed to CNN rules and requested a seated debate with notes and opening remarks. We have said there is no change to the agreed-upon rules. If Kamala Harris is not smart enough to repeat the talking points she wants her handlers to memorize, that is their problem.”
Harris’s camp has strongly denied Miller’s seated debate claims, according to Politico, and sources have confirmed the same.
If Trump follows through on his threat to pull out of the debate entirely, the behind-the-scenes manipulation could be meaningless. On Sunday, he claimed ABC was biased against him. “Why should they have a debate with Kamala Harris?” he wrote on Truth Social. “Stay tuned!!!”
Earlier this month, he posed a similar question: “Right now, why have a debate?” Trump asked Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo. “I’m ahead in the polls. And everybody knows her, and everybody knows me.”
Harris has since enjoyed a remarkable rise in the polls.
