As the upcoming presidential debate draws near, former President Donald Trump has hinted at possibly withdrawing from the ABC-hosted event with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Scheduled for September 10, this debate would be Trump’s second of the year, following a previous one with President Joe Biden on CNN. Recent reports suggest that Trump is considering stepping away from the September debate over what has been dubbed the “hot mic” issue.
Trump’s team has requested that the microphones be muted except when a candidate is speaking, a condition that was also in place during the CNN debate. In contrast, Harris’ campaign is advocating for the microphones to remain on throughout the entire debate.
“We have informed ABC and other networks considering a potential October debate that we believe both candidates’ mics should be live throughout the broadcast,” said Brian Fallon, Harris’ senior communications adviser.
Fallon further commented, “It appears Trump’s handlers prefer the muted microphone because they’re concerned their candidate won’t be able to maintain presidential behavior for the full 90 minutes. We suspect they haven’t even discussed this issue with Trump because it would be too embarrassing to admit they don’t trust him to handle himself against Vice President Harris without the safety net of a mute button.”
Beyond the microphone dispute, Trump has repeatedly voiced his grievances with ABC, recently criticizing reporter Jonathan Karl on social media. In a post on Truth Social, Trump questioned why he should participate in a debate on ABC, accusing the network of bias and raising concerns about potential favoritism towards Harris.
The 2024 US Presidential Election is set for November 5, with Vice President Kamala Harris now the Democratic candidate following Joe Biden’s withdrawal. Harris will face off against former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump.
