'Enough With The Games': Harris Campaign Pushes To Change Debate Rules After Turning Down Multiple Debates

With just 15 days before the first presidential debate between 45th President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, the two campaigns are still attempting to finalize the rules of the ABC News event. According to sources close to both campaigns, the Harris campaign has been pushing to have the microphones on when the other candidate is speaking, allowing for interruptions. Team Trump, however, is asking for the mics to remain muted, as during the debate with President Joe Biden.

"We have told ABC and other networks seeking to host a possible October debate that we believe both candidates' mics should be live throughout the full broadcast," Harris campaign senior advisor Brian Fallon told POLITICO. "Our understanding is that Trump's handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don't think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own. 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." In addition to pushing for the microphones to be on the entire time, the Harris-Walz campaign is also asking for the candidates to be seated during the debate and allow for the candidates to bring notes.

The Harris campaign, after refusing to commit to extra debates and wanting to stick to the debate schedule agreed to with President Biden, is now attempting to change the rules from what the Trump campaign agreed to with President Biden. Team Harris likely wants hot mics to allow Trump to interrupt the vice president and give her an opportunity at a viral moment, similar to her performance in the 2020 vice presidential debate with then-Vice President Mike Pence. A source familiar with the negotiations shared that sentiment with POLITICO, explaining, "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]."

In response to the Harris campaign's push to change the debate rules two weeks away from the debate on September 10, the Trump campaign asserted that it was done with "the games" being played by the other side. "Enough with the games. We accepted the ABC debate under the exact same terms as the CNN debate. The Harris camp, after having already agreed to the CNN rules, asked for a seated debate, with notes, and opening statements. We said no changes to the agreed upon rules," senior campaign advisor Jason Miller explained. "If Kamala Harris isn't smart enough to repeat the messaging points her handlers want her to memorize, that's their problem. This seems to be a pattern for the Harris campaign. They won't allow Harris to do interviews, they won't allow her to do press conferences, and now they want to give her a cheat-sheet for the debate. My guess is that they're looking for a way to get out of any debate with President Trump."

President Trump also slammed ABC on Sunday, writing on Truth Social that the network may be biased against him. "I watched ABC FAKE NEWS this morning, both lightweight reporter Jonathan Carl's (K?) ridiculous and biased interview of Tom Cotton (who was fantastic!), and their so-called Panel of Trump Haters, and I ask, why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network? Will panelist Donna Brazil give the questions to the Marxist Candidate like she did for Crooked Hillary Clinton? Will Kamala's best friend, who heads up ABC, do likewise. Where is Liddle' George Slopadopolus hanging out now? Will he be involved. They've got a lot of questions to answer!!! Why did Harris turn down Fox, NBC, CBS, and even CNN? Stay tuned!!!"

While the Trump-Vance campaign has offered to partake in multiple debates with Harris and Walz, the vice president's campaign is adamant about limiting Harris' exposure as much as possible with the attempts to change the debate rules, yet another example of trying to bend the rules in their favor. The American people deserve to hear directly from the candidates to understand their vision for the nation. If Harris is unwilling to sit down for an interview or hold a press conference, then a debate with agreed-upon rules is the best way to learn about her policy views.

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