US Presidential Election: Trump Agrees To ABC News Debate With Kamala, Campaigns Clash Over Muting Mics

Trump says he has reached an 'agreement with Radical Left Democrats for a debate with Comrade Kamala Harris'. It will be Trump’s first debate since Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee.

Trump claimed that he and Harris have agreed to follow the same set of rules he and President Joe Biden did.

Source : PTI

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has agreed to participate in a debate next month against Vice-President Kamala Harris, his Democratic rival, on ABC News. This comes two days after he said he could skip it. 

The debate is set to take place on September 10. It will be Trump’s first debate against Harris, who took over as the Democratic presidential nominee after President Joe Biden quit the race. Trump and Biden had faced off in a pre-poll debate in June. 

In a post shared on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump said he had reached an “agreement with Radical Left Democrats for a debate with Comrade Kamala Harris”.

He added, “It will be broadcast live on ABC FAKE NEWS, by far the nastiest and most unfair newscaster in the business, on Tuesday, September 10th, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."

Trump claimed that he and Harris have agreed to follow the same set of rules he and President Joe Biden did during the June 27 CNN debate. 

"The rules will be the same as the last CNN debate, which seemed to work out well for everyone except, perhaps, Crooked Joe Biden. The debate will be 'stand up', and candidates cannot bring notes, or 'cheat sheets'," Trump posted. He added that ABC had assured them of a “fair and equitable” debate. 

However, some conflict remains over the question of muting microphones when the candidates aren’t speaking. The so-called “hot mics” can help or hurt political candidates, and catch offhand comments that sometimes weren’t meant for the public, reported Reuters. Harris’ campaign said it wanted ABC to keep the candidates’ mics on throughout the event. Trump's campaign has batted for the exact same rules as the Juen debate, including the one on mics, although the candidate himself has sent mixed signals, Washington Post reported. 

The candidates' campaigns clashed on Monday over the previously agreed-upon debate, with the vice president's team seeking a return to open microphones while Trump threatened to pull out entirely after suggesting the network was biased, added Reuters.

Trump has proposed more debates, including one on September 4 on Fox News, but said it has not been agreed by the “Radical Left”. 

According to ANI, his post said, "Harris would not agree to the FoxNews debate on September 4th, but that date will be held open in case she changes her mind."