ABC News Finalizes Debate Rules, Shuts Down Harris Campaign's Attempts To Alter Format

On Thursday, ABC News announced that it would not be altering the rules of the upcoming debate on September 10 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after Vice President Harris attempted to make last-minute rule changes that would have allowed the microphones to be live throughout the debate instead of being muted when the other candidate speaks. 

In an email reviewed by The New York Post, the network explained that the candidates would be standing and only be allowed a pad of paper, a pen, and a bottle of water for the 90-minute debate. The rules are similar to the June 27 CNN debate between 45th President Trump and President Joe Biden with no studio audience, muted mics, or pre-written notes. The finalization of the rules comes after a week of back-and-forth between the Trump and Harris campaigns as they attempted to settle on the rules of the debate. The Democrat candidate's campaign wanted to change the rules to favor their candidate despite Team Trump having already agreed to set rules and dates with Biden's team.

As previously reported by the DC Enquirer, sources familiar with the negotiations between the two camps revealed that Harris wanted to unmute the mics to get Trump to interrupt her. "She's more than happy to have exchanges with him if he tries to interrupt her. And given how shook he seems by her, he's very prone to having intemperate outbursts and… I think the campaign would want viewers to hear [that]," the source explained. Despite the attempt to change the rules, the debate will be going forward without the plethora of changes requested by the Harris campaign, which, according to Team Trump, included demands that the debate be conducted sitting down and that ABC would allow for each candidate to bring notes.

Trump campaign senior advisor Jason Miller told Newsmax earlier this week that the Harris campaign was using the debate rules as a means of distraction. "The Harris folks are completely full of it," he said. "Everything was agreed to and set last week," he added. "The Harris people are trying to distract and come up with something shiny to move away from the fact that she's not doing interviews."

When asked about the attempt to change the rules, President Trump explained that Harris was trying to get out of the debate because she couldn't handle it. "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 said. When asked whether he wanted the mics to be muted when the other candidate was speaking, Trump said that he would have liked the mics to be unmuted during the Biden debate but insisted that the same rules be enforced for the upcoming showdown.

"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," the 45th president said. "I didn't like it the last time, but it worked out fine. I mean, ask Biden how it worked out. It was fine, and I think it should be the same. We agreed to the same rules, same rules, and same specifications, and I think that's probably what it should be, but they're trying to change it. 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."

With the debate rules set, the second presidential debate of the 2024 cycle will take place in less than two weeks. Millions of Americans will tune in to watch the first Harris-Trump showdown as they hear directly from the candidates to decide who should lead the country for the next four years.

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