Trump says he has ‘reached an agreement’ on ABC debate with Kamala Harris and reveals the rules in bombshell statement
The presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is back on, and set for September 10 on ABC.
The bombshell update came from the former president who said he had ‘reached an agreement’ with the Harris campaign for a primetime showdown in Philadelphia using the same rules of the CNN debate with President Joe Biden.
His statement on Truth Social on Tuesday suggested the impasse over whether microphones should be muted had been resolved.
Trump’s statement included some rules but doesn’t specifically mention what is being done about the microphone muting. But the ex-president hinted he got his way and that microphones will be muted.
The debate will be the first time the two presidential nominees will share a stage.
‘I have reached an agreement with the Radical Left Democrats for a Debate with Comrade Kamala Harris,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He lamented that Harris would not agree to a Fox News debate on September 4 – before the ABC date. He said that the network and his campaign are keeping that date open ‘in case she changes her mind or, flip flops.’
He noted that the debate host, ABC News, is ‘by far the nastiest and most unfair newscaster in the business.’
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‘The Rules will be the same as the last CNN Debate, which seemed to work out well for everyone except, perhaps, Crooked Joe Biden,’ Trump added.
On July 21, Biden dropped out of the 2024 race and endorsed his vice president.
Since becoming the Democratic presidential candidate, Harris has remained on script and has barely stepped out from behind a podium. She has not done a formal sit-down interview or held a press conference.
The Harris campaign has not yet said whether the VP will participate, but released a statement earlier on Tuesday slamming Trump for wanting to repeat the rule from the CNN debate.
‘We have told ABC and other networks seeking to host a possible October debate that we believe both candidates’ mics should be live throughout the full broadcast,’ Harris’ senior advisor for communications 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,’ he continued.
Microphones were muted in the CNN debate between Trump (left) and Joe Biden (right), which most felt was to the benefit of the former president
But the Harris team also speculated that Trump was not aware of the microphone dispute, claiming ‘it would be too embarrassing to admit they don’t think he can handle himself against Vice President Harris without the benefit of a mute button.’
‘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.’
Among the rules Trump listed in his Truth Social post are the fact that candidates will be standing behind podiums for the debate. They are also prohibited from being ‘cheat sheets,’ the former president noted.
‘We have also been given assurance by ABC that this will be a ‘fair and equitable’ Debate, and that neither side will be given the questions in advance,’ he wrote in the post on his social media platform.
