ABC Rejects Kamala’s New Request

ABC News has firmly rejected a late request from Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign to allow unmuted microphones during the upcoming debate against former President Donald Trump on September 10.

According to a report by the New York Post, ABC News has decided to maintain the same debate rules used for Trump’s previous debate against President Joe Biden on CNN. These rules include having no live audience, no pre-written notes or props, and employing a system where microphones are muted when a candidate is not speaking. Harris’s campaign had pushed for both candidates’ microphones to remain active throughout the entire 90-minute debate.

Republican critics have expressed strong opposition to this proposed change and are advocating for the debate to follow the same guidelines as the CNN debate. A source from the Trump campaign indicated that ABC News confirmed it would adhere to the “CNN rules,” and that the debate will take place at Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center as planned.

The controversy over debate rules traces back to the 2020 presidential debates, where constant interruptions created chaos. The Biden team requested that microphones be muted for the subsequent debates to ensure a more disciplined discussion. Trump’s performance during those debates, characterized by restraint and patience, was partially attributed to the muted microphones.

Harris’s team, on the other hand, argued that open microphones would expose Trump’s unscripted remarks, potentially portraying him as rude and disrespectful.

Brian Fallon, a spokesperson for Harris, expressed frustration with the situation in a post on X. He criticized Trump’s team for requesting muted microphones while simultaneously claiming to be fine with unmuted ones. Fallon suggested that the Trump campaign’s demands are a sign of weakness and stated that Harris’s team would continue negotiating with ABC News to finalize the debate rules.