According to a senior adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, tensions are rising over debate preparations as members of Donald Trump’s campaign inner circle have reportedly overruled him on the use of microphones during their upcoming debate.
The issue at hand is whether candidates should have their microphones muted while their opponent is speaking, a point of contention that has been central to the debate negotiations. While Trump initially indicated he was comfortable with an unmuted mic, his campaign advisors have since taken a different stance.
Democratic operative Brian Fallon posted an update on X, formerly known as Twitter, stating that Trump’s team has made their latest demand non-negotiable. According to Fallon, if their request is not met, Trump’s campaign has threatened to cancel the debate.
“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 a third time,” Fallon wrote. “We have been asked to accede to Trump’s handlers’ wishes on this point for the sake of preserving the debate.
We find the Trump team’s stance to be weak and remain in discussions with ABC on the final rules.” The shift in Trump’s campaign strategy suggests that his advisors are concerned about what he might say in an unfiltered exchange with Harris. This development has added another layer of complexity to the already fraught debate preparations.
As negotiations continue, both campaigns are working with ABC to finalize the debate rules, but the ongoing dispute over mic control underscores the challenges of managing high-stakes political confrontations. With the debate hanging in the balance, the resolution of this issue could have significant implications for the trajectory of the campaign.