If they are doing this, imagine what they’ll do if she’s president.
There’s some political drama heating up around the upcoming September 10th presidential debate, and it’s centered around none other than Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. A newly leaked email from inside ABC News has shed some light on the debate rules, and it’s raising eyebrows about the Harris campaign’s recent claims.
Let’s break it down. Earlier this week, one of Harris’s team members took to social media to claim that Trump was considering pulling out of the debate because he was “afraid” of unmuted microphones. This came after reports from Politico suggested that both campaigns were at an impasse over the debate rules. But if you’ve been following this back-and-forth, it seems pretty clear what’s going on.
Initially, the Harris campaign accused Trump of backing out of the debate, labeling him a coward for suggesting that the debate rules should be renegotiated now that Joe Biden was no longer the Democratic nominee. In response, Harris declared that “the debate about debates is over” and challenged Trump to stick to the original terms. Trump agreed, seemingly putting the issue to rest.
Update: 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…
— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) August 29, 2024
But just when things seemed settled, the Harris campaign threw a curveball, pushing for last-minute changes to the debate rules—specifically, demanding unmuted microphones. This move came out of nowhere, especially after weeks of insisting that the original terms were non-negotiable. The Trump campaign quickly pointed out that the rules had already been agreed upon, mirroring those used in the CNN debate that played a part in ending Biden’s campaign.
And here’s where the leaked email comes into play. According to The New York Post, the email from ABC News Chief Counsel Eric Lieberman confirms that the debate rules were always intended to be the same as those from the CNN debate. This includes muted microphones when a candidate isn’t speaking, no audience, and no pre-written notes or props. The email also reiterated these rules and asked both campaigns for their formal acceptance.
So, what does this mean? Well, the idea that the rules were still up in the air, as the Harris campaign suggested, doesn’t hold water. The email shows that ABC News had no plans to change the terms, and all the noise from Harris’s team seems like an attempt to create confusion and gain last-minute concessions.
A top Trump ally put it bluntly, saying that the Harris campaign is either going to have to accept the rules as they are—taking an “L” in the process—or risk looking even weaker by backing out of the debate altogether. The suggestion here is that Harris’s team might be looking for an excuse to avoid the debate, especially since Harris hasn’t done any interviews so far and her first big sit-down will be with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz by her side.
In the end, Trump appears to be sticking to his guns. He agreed to the debate rules as they were presented, and as long as he shows up on September 10th, any failure to engage would fall squarely on Harris. If she skips the debate over the microphone issue, it could be a significant blow to her campaign, making her look indecisive or even afraid to face Trump on the debate stage.