Harris Team Accepts ABC News Decision
After weeks of dragging out negotiations over the upcoming presidential debate rules, Kamala Harris finally caved on Wednesday. Despite her repeated demands for rule changes, the debate will proceed under the original guidelines proposed by ABC News—most notably, the muted mic setup first requested by Joe Biden’s camp. The Harris team’s letter announcing their retreat is a perfect example of political damage control, but what stands out is the persistent tone of defeat. It sounds like Harris is already laying the groundwork for excuses ahead of the event.
What’s most baffling is her claim that she’ll be "fundamentally disadvantaged" by the debate format. Let’s break that down—Harris will have full control of the floor when asked a question, without interruptions. That’s hardly a disadvantage in any sense. In fact, it ensures that she gets her points across without being cut off. So, why the fuss? The answer seems pretty clear: Harris was banking on chaos, and now that’s off the table.
More from Harris campaign letter to ABC News:
"Notwithstanding our concerns, we understand that Donald Trump is a risk to skip the debate altogether, as he has threatened to do previously, if we do not accede to his preferred format. We do not want to jeopardize the debate."
— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) September 4, 2024
If we look back to her famous "I'm speaking" moment during the 2020 vice presidential debate with Mike Pence, it’s easy to see why she might have wanted a similar moment in this showdown. A heated back-and-forth, where Harris could drop viral one-liners and “prosecute” Trump on stage, would have played right into her hands. But without the free-for-all format, she’s lost that opportunity.
And here's another layer: according to a source inside her campaign, Harris had planned more than just a "gotcha" moment. Her approach was a callback to her infamous grilling of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. During that hearing, Harris tried to corner Kavanaugh with leading questions about someone he supposedly knew from a law firm—a moment that turned out to be completely fabricated. There was no basis for her claims, but the media latched onto it anyway, praising her performance. She was aiming to replicate that prosecutor persona in the debate, hoping to spar with Trump and trap him with loaded accusations. But with the mic controls in place, she’s been stripped of that tactic.
In their letter to ABC News, Harris campaign wrote in part:
"Vice President Harris, a former prosecutor, will be fundamentally disadvantaged by this format, which will serve to shield Donald Trump from direct exchanges with the Vice President."
— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) September 4, 2024
This explains the Harris campaign’s frustration. The plan wasn’t just to avoid being interrupted; it was to interrupt Trump, provoke him, and set the stage for a viral clash. Now, with that playbook out the window, Harris has to rely on her policies and actual answers. No wonder her team is rattled.
And let’s clear up one thing: the idea that Trump was considering skipping the debate if the mic rules weren’t changed is pure fiction. Trump’s team agreed to the rules early on and never wavered. The real story here is that Trump’s camp held firm, and Harris’ team was the one desperately scrambling for a way out. When Trump didn’t take the bait, Harris was left with no choice but to show up—and without the ability to turn the debate into the spectacle she was hoping for.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) September 4, 2024