The September 10th presidential debate on ABC News is officially on. According to multiple sources and a post by Donald Trump on social media, terms have been agreed to
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That comes after the Kamala Harris campaign made public demands to change the rules on Monday. One of the points of contention was the muted mic setup that Joe Biden originally stipulated, which was in effect during the CNN debate in late June. When Biden was forced out of the race in July, Harris insisted that Trump stick to the original terms lest he be a coward. That made her recent shift to wanting to change the rules at the eleventh hour incredibly odd and transparent.
SEE: Kamala Harris’ Fear Is Palpable As She Desperately Tries to Change the ABC Debate Rules
Here was one of Harris’ lackeys trying to play the “Trump is scared” game because he objected to being completely run over.
With all that said, Harris has folded on that matter. All of the original rules that were part of the CNN debate will remain in place, with none of the rumored changes, including the use of notes and being seated, being adopted.
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This puts a big dent in what was an obvious ploy by Harris to manufacture yet another “I’m speaking” moment for the cameras. She used that line during the 2020 vice presidential debate and has rehashed it several times during speeches over the years. With an open mic setup, she was no doubt salivating at the chance to use it again on Trump (even if he didn’t legitimately interrupt her). I’d bet she already had the shirts printed and ready to go.
How did we arrive here? That’s less certain. If ABC News held the line here and told the Harris campaign that the rules were already set and could not be changed, I’d have to give them credit for that. For now, though, we don’t know what transpired behind the scenes. What we do know is that all the bluster from the Harris campaign about an “uncensored” debate is null and void, and that’s a good thing. As much as political observers may like a food fight in theory, the muted mic setup is far more effective in informing voters about each nominee.