Harris and Trump Clash Over Muted Mics for Upcoming Debate

In advance of their high-stakes Sept. 10 debate, the campaigns of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are at odds, with both sides debating whether microphones should be muted when it’s not a candidate’s turn to speak. The issue over the microphones has prompted fresh discussion over whether the Sept. 10 debate will take place.

The dispute centers on the muting of microphones when a candidate isn’t speaking, a condition both President Joe Biden and Trump accepted for their June debate hosted by CNN. The Harris campaign now wants microphones to be live all the time, according to Harris spokesman Brian Fallon. “Trump’s handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don’t think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own,” Fallon said.

Trump criticized ABC, the network hosting the event and hinted that he might skip the debate. He wrote about watching the network’s Sunday show with what he described as a “so-called Panel of Trump Haters” and questioned, “Why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?” 

A Trump spokesman stated that the Republican nominee had “accepted the ABC debate under the exact same terms as the CNN debate.”The debate is scheduled to be held in Philadelphia, and will be moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis, the network said.