ABC News Rejects Kamala Harris’ Request To Change Trump’s Debate Rules

Kamala Harris had asked ABC News to allow microphones to remain unmute during her discussion with Donald Trump on September 10.

Only a few days have passed since the regulations sparked a fight between the campaigns of the two presidential hopefuls. This Thursday, the network distributed an email outlining a set of guidelines akin to those in Trump’s CNN debate with Joe Biden, which included muted microphones during a candidate’s silence.

Chief Counsel Eric Lieberman of ABC News said via email that there will be “no audience and no pre-written notes or props.” According to the publication, when on stage, Trump and Harris will only be permitted to have a pen, a pad of paper, and a bottle of water.

While the Harris team suggested on Monday that both candidates’ microphones be left unmuted for the full ninety minutes of the debate, the Trump campaign had insisted on regulations akin to those of the June 27 debate.

In response to the rules laid out by ABC News, Harris campaign’s spokesperson Brian Fallon wrote on X, “Our latest understanding is that even though Trump said Monday he would be fine with an unmuted mic, his handlers don’t trust him to spar live with VP Harris and are asking ABC to ignore Trump’s comments and keep the mics muted or else they will back out of the debate for a third time.”

“We have been asked to accede to Trump’s handlers’ wishes on this point for the sake of preserving the debate. We find the Trump’s team’s stance to be weak, and remain in discussions with ABC on the final rules,” Fallon added.

Senior adviser to the Trump campaign Jason Miller attacked the Harris campaign, calling them “completely full of it.”

“Everything was agreed to and set last week. 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,” Miller added in a statement to Newsmax.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli