Current:Home > NewsHarris and Trump are having a new squabble over their upcoming debate, this time about muted mics -Thrive Success Strategies
Harris and Trump are having a new squabble over their upcoming debate, this time about muted mics
View
Date:2025-04-13 09:31:09
WASHINGTON (AP) — The campaigns of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are arguing in advance of their high-stakes Sept. 10 debate over whether microphones should be muted except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak.
While it’s common for campaigns to quibble beforehand over debate mechanics, both Harris and Trump are under pressure to deliver a strong performance next month in Philadelphia. The first debate during this campaign led to President Joe Biden’s departure from the race.
Trump on Sunday night raised the possibility that he might not show up on ABC, posting on his Truth Social network that he had watched the network’s Sunday show with a “so-called Panel of Trump Haters” and posited, “why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?” and urging followers to “Stay tuned!!”
The current dispute centers on the muting of microphones when a candidate isn’t speaking, a condition both Biden and Trump accepted for their June debate hosted by CNN. Both sides are accusing the other of gaming the system to protect their candidate.
Biden’s campaign team made microphone muting a condition of its decision to accept any debates this year, and some aides now regret the decision, saying voters were shielded from hearing Trump’s outbursts during the debate. That move likely would not have helped the incumbent Democrat’s disastrous performance.
The Harris campaign now wants microphones to be live all the time, according to Harris spokesman Brian Fallon, who issued a statement needling Trump.
“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. Harris “is ready to deal with Trump’s constant lies and interruptions in real time. Trump should stop hiding behind the mute button.”
Trump spokesman Jason Miller retorted that the Republican nominee had “accepted the ABC debate under the exact same terms as the CNN debate.” He alleged Harris’ representatives sought “a seated debate, with notes, and opening statements.”
Miller then took a shot at Harris not sitting for an interview or holding a news conference since Biden ended his reelection and endorsed her, arguing her campaign now wants “to give her a cheat sheet for the debate.”
The Harris campaign denied Miller’s claim that she wanted notes.
During a stop Monday in the Washington area following a visit to Arlington National Cemetery, Trump said “we agreed to the same rules” in terms of the Sept. 10 debate, adding: “The truth is they’re trying to get out of it.”
Complicating the negotiations this year is that debates are being orchestrated on an ad hoc basis by host networks, as opposed to the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, through which debate rules were negotiated privately.
Microphones have been unmuted for both candidates for most of televised presidential debate history. The debate commission announced that its October 2020 debate would have microphones muted when candidates were not recognized to speak after the first Biden-Trump contest descended into a shouting match. The second 2020 debate with the microphone muting rules was widely celebrated for being more substantive than the earlier matchup.
___
Associated Press writers Zeke Miller and Colleen Long in Washington, and Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report.
___
Meg Kinnard reported from Chapin, South Carolina, and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP
veryGood! (36)
Related
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- Charge against TikTok personality upgraded in the killing of a Louisiana therapist
- Billie Eilish says she's never talking about her sexuality 'ever again' after controversy
- If the polls just closed, how can AP already declare a winner?
- Rams vs. 49ers highlights: LA wins rainy defensive struggle in key divisional game
- Military board substantiates misconduct but declines to fire Marine who adopted Afghan orphan
- Rookie Drake Maye will be new starting quarterback for Patriots, per report
- Grazer beats the behemoth that killed her cub to win Alaska’s Fat Bear Contest
- New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
- Hoda Kotb details 'weird' decision to leave 'Today' show after 16 years
Ranking
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Kelsea Ballerini Unpacks It All in Her New Album -- Here's How to Get a Signed Copy
- Tennessee nurse and his dog die trying to save man from Hurricane Helene floods
- Shop Amazon's October Prime Day 2024 Best Kitchen Deals & Save Up to 78% on KitchenAid, Ninja & More
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- Dream Builder Wealth Society: Precise Strategy, Winning the Future
- Texas is a young state with older elected officials. Some young leaders are trying to change that.
- Election conspiracy theories fueled a push to hand-count votes, but doing so is risky and slow
Recommendation
'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
Watch hundreds of hot air balloons take over Western skies for massive Balloon Fiesta
AP Elections Top 25: The people, places, races, dates and things to know about Election Day
Hurricane Milton grows 'explosively' stronger, reaches Category 5 status | The Excerpt
A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
Jets' head coach candidates after Robert Saleh firing: Bill Belichick or first-time hire?
Tampa mayor’s warning to residents who don’t evacuate for Milton: 'You are going to die'
'Dancing With the Stars' Anna Delvey elimination episode received historic fan votes