Trump Responds To Debate Rule Requests
It looks like the debate stage is heating up, and not just with the candidates’ policies. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had some strong words on Monday for the Kamala Harris campaign, accusing them of trying to “get out” of the upcoming ABC News debate by pushing for changes to the agreed-upon rules.
According to reports, the Harris campaign is seeking to revise a key debate rule that would have muted the microphone of the candidate not speaking—a rule that had been set up for debates earlier this year when President Joe Biden was still in the race.
Trump didn’t hold back in his response, claiming that Harris is simply looking for an excuse to avoid facing him on stage. “We agreed to the same rules,” Trump said. “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter to me. I’d rather have [the microphones] probably on, but the agreement was that it would be the same as it was last time… The truth is, they’re trying to get out of it because she doesn’t want to debate. She’s not a good debater. She’s not a smart person. She doesn’t want to debate.”
Trump just now on the muted mics during the debate:
“We agreed to the same rules. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter to me. I’d rather have it probably on, but the agreement was that it would be the same as it was last time. In that case, it was muted. I didn’t like it the last… pic.twitter.com/yY0smQjrkK
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) August 26, 2024
The Harris campaign, on the other hand, argues that the rules should be updated to keep both candidates’ microphones live throughout the entire debate. Brian Fallon, a senior communications adviser for Harris, suggested that Trump’s team prefers the muted microphones because they believe Trump might struggle to maintain a presidential demeanor for the full 90 minutes without the benefit of a mute button.
“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,” Fallon remarked.
Adding to the mix, Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro chimed in, calling the Harris campaign’s move “pathetic and obvious.” Shapiro pointed out that Harris might be trying to recreate a memorable moment from her debate with former Vice President Mike Pence, where she famously interrupted with, “I’m speaking,” and suggested that she might be aiming for a similar moment with Trump.
FLASHBACK: Kamala Harris melted down in 2020 VP debate against Mike Pence:
“I’m speaking…I’m speaking”
This woman is so easily rattled. pic.twitter.com/AR95Sps1TE
— Cryptid Politics (pro-DeSantis) 🇺🇸🐊 (@CryptidPolitics) July 23, 2024
The tension doesn’t stop there. Trump’s senior adviser Jason Miller accused the Harris campaign of wanting to switch to a seated debate format with notes and opening statements—something the Harris team denies. Miller criticized these alleged requests as a sign that the Harris campaign is trying to give her an unfair advantage. “If Kamala Harris isn’t smart enough to repeat the messaging points her handlers want her to memorize, that’s their problem,” Miller said, adding that it looks like the Harris campaign is trying to find a way out of facing Trump on stage altogether.