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Washington — The campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris has come to a decision regarding the upcoming presidential debate hosted by ABC News, agreeing to have the microphones muted for the candidates when they are not speaking. This decision concludes discussions on the rules for the debate scheduled for September 10, which will feature debates against former President Donald Trump.
In a letter to ABC News, the Harris campaign expressed concerns that the muted microphone format could disadvantage her as a speaker and give Trump an advantage by limiting direct exchange between the candidates. The letter, which was shared with CBS News, stated, “Vice President Harris, a former prosecutor, will be fundamentally disadvantaged by this format, which will serve to shield Donald Trump from direct exchanges.” The campaign suggested that the insistence on muted microphones likely came from Trump’s team.
Despite these concerns, the campaign received assurances regarding how crosstalk would be managed during the event. If significant interruptions occur, microphones may be unmuted, and persistent interrupting candidates will receive warnings from the moderator. If exchanges are not picked up by the microphones, reporters in attendance are expected to relay important comments to the audience.
In their letter, the Harris team acknowledged Trump’s tendency to threaten avoiding debates altogether unless the rules aligned with his preferences, demonstrating a desire to avoid jeopardizing participation in the event. “Notwithstanding our concerns, we understand that Donald Trump is a risk to skip the debate altogether… We do not want to jeopardize the debate. For this reason, we accepted the full set of rules proposed by ABC, including muted microphones,” the letter indicated.
The Biden campaign had previously requested for candidates’ microphones to be muted when the opponent was speaking in the June debate against Trump, which was organized by CNN. Trump’s campaign has consistently opposed any alterations to the debate rules for the upcoming September event. “We agreed to the same rules. I don’t know, it doesn’t matter to me,” Trump remarked during a campaign event in Virginia, noting his preference for having the microphones live, but recognizing the earlier agreement stipulated muted microphones.
After the Harris campaign agreed to the debate rules, Trump campaign spokesperson Jason Miller expressed satisfaction with the outcome. In a statement to CBS News, he noted, “We are thrilled that Kamala Harris and her team have finally accepted the already agreed upon rules of the debate that they wrote in the first place.” Miller emphasized that Americans deserve a debate where both candidates can articulate their visions without distractions and reiterated anticipation for the upcoming event in Philadelphia next Tuesday.
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