WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The campaigns of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris clashed on Monday over next month's U.S. presidential debate, with the vice president's team seeking to return to open microphones while his Republican rival threatened to withdraw altogether, suggesting a pre-agreed deal. The ABC network was biased.
“Why would I debate Kamala Harris on that network?” Trump, who is making his third bid for the White House, posted on social media Sunday night again accusing the network of bias. “Stay tuned!!!”
The spokesman for Harris, Brian Fallon, said on Monday that the campaign for the vice president wants the announcer to keep the microphones of the candidates open during the entire event, not to be silent when the opponent speaks as in the last presidential debate. So-called “hot mics” can help or hurt political candidates, capturing witty comments that are sometimes not intended for the public.
“The Vice President is ready to confront Trump's constant lies and distractions in real time. Trump must stop hiding behind the mute button,” Fallon said in a statement.
Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller said in a statement they had agreed to the same terms as the June CNN debate, which had silenced the microphones, adding: “We said no changes to the rules were agreed upon.”
But Trump later told reporters he preferred to keep his microphone off, adding that he didn't want to be silenced for the last time and that he wasn't preparing much for his new challenger.
“It doesn't matter to me. I would like to have it, maybe, continue. But the agreement was that it will be the same as the last time,” said Trump.
“I don't spend a lot of time on it. I think my whole life I've been preparing for the debate,” Trump said. “You can't cram information into your head, because you know, 30 years of information in one week. So, you know, there's a little bit of a preparation argument, but I've always done it the same way.”
Representatives for ABC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Harris secured the Democratic nomination after President Joe Biden stepped down last month, and said they would hold the Sept. 10 ABC News-hosted debate previously agreed to by Biden and Trump.
Biden has been targeting the previous debates, hoping to boost his campaign and shine a light on Trump. But his impeachment on June 27 sparked an uproar in his party, and he was up for re-election a few weeks later.
Trump hosted another Fox News debate on Sept. 4, which he later said would be a televised town hall with him and host Sean Hannity. The Harris campaign said no.
The vice president, Republican US Senator JD (NASDAQ:) Vance and Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, are scheduled to clash on October 1 on CBS News.
