US election campaign: First TV duel – Trump wins against Harris on microphone question

The US broadcaster ABC has published the rules for the first televised debate between the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris.

Previously, there had been a dispute between Trump and Harris over the microphones – specifically, the question was whether the microphones would be muted when the political opponent was speaking. There now seems to be an agreement: during the TV debate on September 10 (local time/September 11 CEST), the microphones of the person who is not speaking will be muted.

Trump prevails

Harris has now apparently given in. A spokesperson for the campaign team of Democrat Harris said last week that they preferred that both candidates’ microphones remain switched on during the entire broadcast. “We believe that Trump’s advisers prefer the silent microphone because they do not believe that their candidate can behave in a presidential manner for 90 minutes,” they said in a statement.

During the TV debate between Trump and then-Democratic presidential candidate, US President Joe Biden, in June, the microphones of the person who was not speaking were muted.

According to reports, the muting was done by Biden’s team. The Democrats wanted to prevent Trump from constantly interrupting the 81-year-old Democrat. After the debate, however, observers concluded that Trump might have been more likely to support the muted microphones because the 78-year-old seemed more controlled that way.

Pen, paper and water allowed

Trump was upset that Harris wanted to change these rules and indirectly threatened to call off the entire TV debate. The debate between Trump and Biden at the time was hosted by the US broadcaster CNN, now it is ABC’s turn. The spectacle will be moderated by journalist David Muir and journalist Linsey Davis. ABC said that both candidates had agreed to the rules that have now been published.

The broadcaster announced that the debate would last 90 minutes, with two commercial breaks planned. There will be no opening statements, and the candidates’ closing statements will last two minutes. “Required or pre-written notes are not permitted on stage,” ABC said.

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Harris and Trump would be given a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water. Two minutes are allotted to answer questions, two minutes for rebuttals from the other candidates and another minute for follow-up questions or clarifications.