The planned Sept. 10 presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump has hit an impasse over rules to keep microphones muted when it isn't the candidate's turn to speak, Politico reported.
Harris' team wants the mics to be hot at all times during the ABC debate, a change from the mutually agreed rules for the microphones to "be muted throughout the debate except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak" by President Joe Biden and Trump when Biden was the Democrat presidential nominee – a Biden "red line," according to Politico.
Trump in a Truth Social post Sunday complained about ABC's panel and during an interview host Jonathan Karl conducted with Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on "This Week" to question why he should agree to do a debate hosted by the network.
"I watched ABC FAKE NEWS this morning, both lightweight reporter Jonathan Carl's (K?) ridiculous and biased interview of Tom Cotton (who was fantastic!), and their so-called Panel of Trump Haters, and I ask, why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?" Trump wrote.
"Will panelist Donna Brazil[e] give the questions to the Marxist Candidate like she did for Crooked Hillary Clinton? Will Kamala's best friend, who heads up ABC, do likewise. Where is Liddle' George Slopadopolus hanging out now? Will he be involved. They've got a lot of questions to answer!!! Why did Harris turn down Fox, NBC, CBS, and even CNN? Stay tuned!!!"
Harris' team on Sunday taunted Trump over his campaign's demand for the microphones to be turned off.
"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," Brian Fallon, the Harris campaign's senior adviser for communications, told the news outlet.
"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."
Jason Miller, senior adviser for Trump, told Politico it was "enough with the games."
"We accepted the ABC debate under the exact same terms as the CNN debate," he said. "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.
"If Kamala Harris isn't smart enough to repeat the messaging points her handlers want her to memorize, that's their problem. This seems to be a pattern for the Harris campaign. They won't allow Harris to do interviews, they won't allow her to do press conferences, and now they want to give her a cheat-sheet for the debate. My guess is that they're looking for a way to get out of any debate with President Trump."