Harris accepts rules debate with Trump on ABC, including muting microphone

President Joe Biden’s campaign had made muting microphones, except for the candidate whose turn it was, a condition of his decision to participate in debates this year. Some advisers have said they now regret that decision because voters were shielded from hearing Trump’s outbursts during the June debate, when a disastrous performance by the incumbent Democrat prompted his exit from the campaign.

After Harris replaced Biden and became her party’s presidential nominee, her campaign team had advocated conducting the entire debate via microphones, saying that this approach would “enable an unrestricted exchange of content between the candidates.”

But in a letter obtained by The Associated Press, Harris’ advisers wrote Wednesday that the former prosecutor “is fundamentally disadvantaged by this format because it will protect Donald Trump from direct interaction with the Vice President.”

“We suspect this is the main reason his campaign team insists on muting microphones,” her campaign team added.

Despite these concerns, Harris’ campaign team wrote, “we recognize that Donald Trump poses a risk if he cancels the debate altogether, as he has previously threatened to do if we do not agree to his preferred format.” In order “not to jeopardize the debate,” Harris’ campaign team wrote, “we have accepted all of ABC’s proposed rules, including muting microphones.”

According to a Harris campaign official, a group of journalists will be on hand to hear what the muted candidate tries to say when his microphone is off. That detail was not included in the full debate rules, which ABC also released Wednesday and which are essentially the same as those used for the Trump-Biden debate in June.

The network set parameters ranging from the basic format – 90 minutes with two commercial breaks – to the requirement that hosts David Muir and Linsey Davis “will be the only ones asking questions,” perhaps in the hope of preventing a jockeying session between the candidates.

“Moderators will attempt to enforce time agreements and ensure a civilized discussion,” the network noted.

The Harris campaign official, who spoke on condition of anonymity about debate planning, said a candidate who repeatedly interrupts will be warned by a moderator and that if there is significant crosstalk, both candidates’ microphones may be switched on so the audience can understand what is going on.

After a virtual coin toss on Tuesday that saw Trump win, the Republican candidate chose to deliver the final closing argument while Harris opted for the podium to the right of viewers’ screens. There will be no audience, no written notes and no topics or questions shared in advance with campaign teams or candidates, the network said.

In Wednesday’s town hall meeting, Hannity walked Trump through many of the topics typical of the Republican candidate’s campaign rallies, with a strong focus on immigration, and took questions after showing video clips of Harris in media interviews and other appearances.

Trump also repeatedly shifted his attention from Harris to Biden. He called the Democrats’ replacement of their frontrunner “a coup” and said he would have preferred a debate with Harris to a town hall meeting.

When asked about next week’s debate, Trump repeated his previous criticism of ABC as a “dishonest” and “unfair” network, and reiterated his previous claims that Harris’ campaign would “get the questions in advance.”

The location of Trump’s town hall meeting and next week’s debate in Philadelphia underscore the importance of the swing state of Pennsylvania, where 19 Electoral College votes are up for grabs in the November election.

Price reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. AP White House correspondent Zeke Miller contributed to this report.