Is there going to be a presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris or what?
A debate is officially scheduled for Sept. 10 on ABC. But Trump is already dropping hints that he might not want to participate.
First, on Sunday night, Trump complained about ABC’s Sunday morning show “This Week” and openly asked why he should take part in a debate on ABC.
On his Truth Social, Trump wrote, “I watched ABC FAKE NEWS this morning, both lightweight reporter Jonathan Carl’s(K?) ridiculous and biased interview of Tom Cotton (who was fantastic!), and their so-called Panel of Trump Haters, and I ask, why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network? Will panelist Donna Brazil give the questions to the Marxist Candidate like she did for Crooked Hillary Clinton? Will Kamala’s best friend, who heads up ABC, do likewise. Where is Liddle’ George Slopadopolus hanging out now? Will he be involved. They’ve got a lot of questions to answer!!! Why did Harris turn down Fox, NBC, CBS, and even CNN? Stay tuned!!!”
That seemed to indicate that Trump might skip out on a debate hosted by ABC.
Then on Monday, while at an event at Arlington National Cemetery, Trump again went after ABC, calling it “the single worst network for unfairness” and saying it “really should be shut out” of hosting a debate.
Then came another wrinkle that seems to have rankled the Trump campaign.
Harris’ campaign has suggested that, unlike the June debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, the candidates’ microphones should be left on for the entire time. In the Biden-Trump debate, candidates’ microphones were muted when it wasn’t their turn to talk.
Harris’ campaign manager, Brian Fallon, said in a statement, “Our understanding is that Trump’s handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don’t think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own.”
When asked by a reporter on Monday, Trump said, “Doesn’t matter to me. I’d rather have it probably on.”
But Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, reacted strongly in a statement, saying, “Enough with the games. We accepted the ABC debate under the exact same terms as the CNN debate.”
In other words, the Trump campaign wants muted microphones.
It makes sense that Trump’s team would prefer that the candidates don’t have open microphones for the entire time because, frankly, their candidate gets into trouble when he has no guardrails. Think of his campaign rallies. When he sticks to the teleprompter, he stays on point. When he starts to ad-lib, he gets into personal attacks, ridiculous theories and outright lies that make him look small and even unbalanced.
It’s the same with the debates. When Trump only has limited time, maybe 30 seconds or a minute, to deliver his message, he tends to stay on point. If his microphone were to be left open for the entire 90 minutes of a debate, who knows what might come out?
The Washington Post’s Amber Phillips wrote, “It’s clear Harris’s campaign is hoping Trump will blunder the more chances he has to talk.”
Right after the first debate, Axios’ Sara Fischer wrote, “Muted mics made it difficult for Trump to interrupt Biden, which made him appear more measured than in previous debates.”
Muted microphones also mean Trump can say whatever he wants, whether it's true or not, without being challenged by his opponent. If microphones are left on, Harris could fact-check him in real time.
In the end, Trump’s ego won’t allow him to not debate Harris. He doesn’t want to come off as if he were ducking Harris, or afraid of her. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he accepted the challenge of having a debate with open microphones because, again, his ego wouldn’t have it any other way.
Reports are that Trump isn’t listening to his advisers when they tell him to stick to the script, and not go on rambling personal attacks, when he is giving campaign speeches. He clearly isn’t listening to them.
But when it comes to his campaign insisting that the debate rules have muted microphones, Trump would be best served to listen.
