ABC News announced Thursday that it would mute microphones during the Sept. 10 presidential debate, rejecting a last-minute attempt by Vice President Kamala Harris to change the rules.
The announcement supports claims that the Harris campaign was trying to focus media attention on the debate drama to distract from the third anniversary this week of the Biden-Harris administration's deadly Afghanistan withdrawal.
Check it out — President Trump releases video marking the third anniversary of the attack on Afghanistan and the killing of Kamala:
Donald J. Trump / Truth Social
The announcement also underscores the Harris campaign's strategy to have an escape route ready in case Thursday's CNN interview with Harris goes poorly.
“At this point, the debate rules aren't changing, so it would be a loss if the Harris campaign ultimately accepts, or an even bigger loss if she pulls out of the debate because the Dana Bash/CNN interview didn't go well,” a prominent Trump ally told Breitbart News.
The debate controversy dates back to Joe Biden's presidential campaign, when the two candidates agreed to debate twice (June 27 on CNN and September 10 on ABC) and Biden insisted that “mics be kept muted throughout the debate except for those candidates whose turn it was to speak,” according to CNN. Reported June 15th.
Harris has since joined the campaign. Last week, the Trump and Harris campaigns received written copies of the ABC News debate rules, and both campaigns confirmed to the network that the debate would go on “as scheduled,” a Trump ally said.
This composite photo shows former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (left) attending an event in Bedminster, New Jersey on August 15, 2024, and Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris attending a campaign event in Raleigh, North Carolina on August 16, 2024 (Photo by The Associated Press).
The Harris campaign urged ABC News and other broadcasters on Sunday to unmute the candidate's microphone to avoid drawing too much media attention to the anniversary of the deadly Afghanistan withdrawal next week, but Trump continued to oppose the idea on Tuesday.
“I have reached an agreement with the Radical Left Democrats for a debate with Comrade Kamala Harris, which will be broadcast live on Tuesday, September 10th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the most mean and unfair news anchor in the business, ABC Fake News,” Trump said.
Harris' campaign continuation He ignored debate rules on Wednesday when he refused to agree to have his microphone muted during the Sept. 10 debate on ABC.
WATCH — Kamala's husband claims she's attacking cowards “head-on” while avoiding Fox's debate with Trump:
C-SPAN
A person familiar with Harris' negotiations said According to Politico Playbook, Harris wants an unmuted microphone to escape the verbal tirade. “When he tries to interrupt her, she's happy to engage him in a conversation,” the source said. “From the way he seems upset with her, he's prone to very unprincipled outbursts and… I think the campaign wants viewers to hear this.” [that].”
Read more about Harris' word salad here.
