Tensions Rise as Ex-President Questions ABC Debate, Harris Demands Open Mics

United States – Both Trump and Harris went head-to-head on Monday to talk the upcoming U. S. presidential debate in next month, Trump’s campaign called on to bring back open mics and at the same time, the vice president’s campaign started threatening to drop out entirely from the debate planned on the ABC network as Trump accused it of bias, as reported by Reuters.

Trump Accuses ABC of Bias

“Why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?” Trump, who is making his third bid for the White House, wrote in a social media post late Sunday night that accused the network of bias. “Stay tuned!!!”

On Monday, Harris spokesperson Brian Fallon said, the vice president’s campaign had requested the broadcaster to leave the candidates’ microphones open throughout the event and not mute when the other was speaking like in the last presidential debate. Known as ‘hot mics,’ they can assist or hinder political outcomes and capture remarks that, perhaps, the speaker did not want to be broadcast.

Harris Campaign Pushes for Open Mics to Challenge Trump

“The Vice President is ready to deal with Trump’s constant lies and interruptions in real-time. Trump should stop hiding behind the mute button,” Fallon said in a statement.

Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller said in a statement they had already agreed to the same terms as CNN’s June debate, which had muted microphones, adding: We agreed that no changes would be made to the rules which were previously settled upon.

However, speaking to reporters later, Trump said he liked his microphone, stating that he did not like it muted the last time and noting that he did not practice much for the face-off against his new opponent.

“Doesn’t matter to me. I’d rather have it, probably, on. But the agreement was that it would be the same as it was last time,” Trump said.

“I’m not spending a lot of time on it. I think my whole life I’ve been preparing for a debate,” Trump added. “You can’t cram knowledge into your head, for you know, 30 years of knowledge in one week. So, you know, there’s a little debate prep, but I’ve always done it more or less the same way.”

The representatives of ABC could not comment on that and failed to respond to the requests immediately.

Uncertainty Surrounds Debate as ABC Declines to Comment

Harris clinched the Democratic nomination after Biden relinquished his slot last month, and had indicated that they would attend the Sept. 10 debate organized by ABC News that Biden and Trump agreed to. ”

Biden had wanted the debates earlier so he could rejuvenate his campaign and put more focus on Trump.

Nonetheless, his own shaky performance during an actual showdown on June 27 raised concern among his party members, leading to the ouster of his reelection campaign a few weeks after.

Upcoming Debates

Trump had offered another debate sponsored by Fox News on Sept 4, but he later stated that it would be a televised town hall between him and Sean Hannity only. They responded in the negative when asked that by the Harris campaign, as reported by Reuters.

The vice presidential contenders are the Republican U. S. Senator JD Vance and the Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz; the debate is set for the 1st of October on CBS News.