Kamala Harris’ Bold Request Snubbed – Not Going to Happen

Trump and Harris debate

ABC News just stood firm against Vice President Kamala Harris’s plea to alter debate rules, setting the stage for what promises to be a contentious face-off with former President Donald Trump.

At a Glance

  • ABC News rejected Harris’s push to keep microphones unmuted during the entire debate.
  • The debate rules echo Trump’s June 27 CNN debate against President Biden, with muted microphones when candidates are not speaking.
  • Both Trump and Harris will only be allowed a pen, a pad of paper, and a bottle of water during the debate.
  • The debate will be hosted in Philadelphia on September 10 at 9 pm.

ABC News Dismisses Harris’s Request

Vice President Kamala Harris recently aimed to tweak the debate rules for her September 10 clash with former President Donald Trump, specifically targeting the use of muted microphones. Despite the last-minute appeal, ABC News refused to budge, reiterating their commitment to a “civil and organized” exchange. This refusal signals ABC’s strong stance to not let the debate spiral into a shouting match.

The Harris team’s desire for continuous live microphones was supposed to “foster substantive exchanges.” However, ABC News communicated that they will adhere to their original guidelines, reminding both campaigns of the CNN rules in a written statement. The Trump campaign had confirmed these arrangements last week, prompting criticism from Harris’s camp.

Muted Microphones: The Flashpoint

The requests for unmuted mics stem from Harris’s campaign, who argued that such a move would encourage more dynamic engagements between the candidates. Despite these assertions, many conservative critics are quick to note the irony. They call out Harris’s tendency for interjectory lines like during her 2020 “I’m speaking!” quip against then-Vice President Mike Pence, which garnered sympathetic media coverage at the time.

On the other side, Harris’s attempts to alter the rules have been labeled as a distraction tactic by Trump senior adviser Jason Miller, who stated, “The Harris folks are completely full of it. Everything was agreed to and set last week.”

The Stage is Set

The debate will strictly follow the rules similar to Trump’s previous encounter with Biden: no audience, no notes or props, and muted microphones when a candidate isn’t speaking. Candidates are limited to a pen, a pad of paper, and a bottle of water, underscoring the controlled nature of the event. The Republican campaign has insisted that the debate rules are imperative to ensure an organized and fair dialogue.

“A top Trump ally said ABC News had informed both campaigns in writing last week that it would employ the ‘CNN rules’ and both had confirmed that Sept. 10 was a ‘go.'”

The September 10 debate will take place in Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center and will be moderated by ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis. Both Trump and Harris will stand behind lecterns without the crutch of opening statements to lean on. This setting promises an engaging encounter. Stay tuned.

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