The Donald Trump and Kamala Harris campaigns got into a heated argument on Monday over debate rules, with the Trump campaign accusing the Harris campaign of “playing games” after they tried to keep microphones running throughout the debate.
After Trump suggested in a Truth Social post that he might skip the ABC debate in Philadelphia on Sept. 10, spokesman Jason Miller said the Harris campaign was trying to rearrange the schedule for the debate, which had already been scheduled.
“Enough with the games,” Trump spokesman Jason Miller told Fox News Digital in a statement. “We accepted the ABC debate on the exact same terms as the CNN debate.”
36th: VP Harris refuses to take policy positions, hold press conferences, or give interviews
According to recent social media posts, former President Trump has suggested he may not debate Vice President Harris on ABC. (Getty Images)
Miller did not directly answer whether Trump would attend the September debate, instead criticizing the Harris campaign for trying to avoid a debate with the former president.
“The Harris campaign requested a sit-down debate with notes and opening statements after already agreeing to CNN’s rules. We said there would be no changes to the agreed-upon rules,” Miller wrote. “If Kamala Harris isn’t smart enough to repeat the messaging points her cronies want her to memorize, that’s their problem. This seems to be a pattern from the Harris campaign: they won’t let her do interviews, they won’t let her do press conferences, and now they’re trying to give her a debate cheat sheet. My guess is they’re looking for a way out of a debate with President Trump. Either way, Harris isn’t ready to be commander in chief.”
Miller’s comments came after President Trump slammed ABC News on Sunday for an interview with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas).
“I watched ABC Fake News this morning. Saw both the ridiculously biased interview of Tom Cotton (great reporter!) by flippant reporter Jonathan Karl(?) and the so-called Trump haters panel. Now I ask myself why I would do a debate with Kamala Harris on that network,” Trump wrote. The truth of society Sunday night.
Cotton clashed with ABC News’ Jonathan Karl on Saturday over Harris’ past support for Medicare for All, after Karl pursued Cotton’s criticism of Harris’ support for eliminating private health insurance as part of her “Medicare for All” push during the 2019 presidential campaign.
“Will panelist Donna Brazile question the Marxist candidate like she did with the evil Hillary Clinton? Will Kamala’s best friend at the head of ABC do the same,” Trump wrote, presumably referring to Disney TV chief Dana Walden, a close friend of Harris’s. “Where is Riddle’s George Slopadopolos now? Is he involved? They have a ton of questions to answer!!!”
Trump slams Harris as part of truth social furor over her “omission” from Democratic National Convention speech
Miller did not directly answer whether Trump would attend the September debate, instead criticizing the Harris campaign for trying to avoid a debate with the former president. (AP Photo/Julia Nickinson)
The Harris campaign also responded to the controversy over the debate rules.
Brian Fallon, a senior adviser to the Harris campaign, said ABC and other networks should urge Trump and Harris to keep their microphones on throughout the debate.
“We’ve told ABC and other networks considering hosting the October debate that both candidates’ microphones should be on for the entire broadcast,” Fallon said. “We understand that Trump’s people prefer muted microphones because they don’t believe a candidate can be presidential for 90 minutes on their own. I suspect Trump’s team hasn’t even told their bosses about this controversy because they’re embarrassed to admit they don’t think they can stand up to VP Harris without a mute button. The VP is prepared to deal with Trump’s constant lies and interruptions in real time. It’s time for Trump to stop hiding behind the mute button.”
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Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Yael Haron contributed to this report.
