Donald Trump’s campaign is reportedly raising concerns about the possibility of a debate scheduled for September 10 on ABC, according to an exclusive report by CNN.
According to the news outlet, Trump’s team is advocating for a rule where microphones remain muted for all candidates except the one currently speaking, similar to the format used in his initial debate against President Joe Biden. On Sunday evening, Trump criticized what he described as the “biased” network, targeting reporter Jonathan Karl and a panel he referred to as “Trump Haters” in a post on his Truth Social platform. “Why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?” the former president asked.
RELATED: Secret Service Puts Agents On Leave After Donald Trump Assassination Attempt
In response Brian Fallon, the Harris campaign’s senior adviser for communications released a statement saying, “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. “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.”
Trump’s campaign contends that their agreement to participate in the ABC debate, featuring Harris as the leading candidate, was based on the understanding that the same rules from the earlier debate would apply.
RELATED: Donald Trump Reacts To Barack Obama And Michelle’s Comments About Him During DNC Speech
“Enough with the games. We accepted the ABC debate under the exact same terms as the CNN debate,” Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller said in a statement. “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 added, “Interesting that this is only coming up now that the Harris campaign has started their debate prep. Even their own campaign spokesman said the debate about debates was over. Clearly they’re seeing something they don’t like.”
The Harris campaign refuted Miller’s assertion that they were requesting candidates to be seated with access to notes.
The disagreement over microphone regulations was initially reported by Politico.
Although the ABC debate was officially confirmed earlier this month, Trump has consistently advocated for a new format, suggesting a debate with a “full arena audience” hosted by Fox News.
Despite these discussions, both candidates have been actively participating in practice debate sessions. According to aides, Harris is scheduled to travel to Georgia this week, alongside a few select campaign stops as she concentrates on her debate preparations.
Come on Donald, what are you afraid of? Are you concerned that VP Harris will make you look like a fool? If you are really serious about being president again, you wouldn’t hesitate to debate the VP. You certainly don’t want us, the voters, to think you are a coward and not up to the job.