Election debate between Harris and Trump in jeopardy due to muted microphones

Harris’ campaign claimed that Trump’s camp was trying to keep the microphones turned off to protect him from making offensive comments or losing his temper during the debate.

“We believe both candidates’ microphones should be on throughout the broadcast,” Harris communications director Brian Fallon said in a statement.

He claimed: “Trump’s advisers prefer to mute the microphone because they don’t believe their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes.”

It was a condition negotiated by Biden that would also apply to the September debate on ABC.

But Harris, who replaced Biden after his disastrous performance at the CNN debate, is pushing for a return to the norm of keeping the microphones on.

The Trump camp insists that the debate should take place under the conditions already agreed upon.

Trump himself further muddied the waters on Monday when he referred to his microphone and said, “I don’t know, I don’t care. I probably would have preferred to have it on,” according to a video broadcast by NBC.

“The agreement was that it would be the same as last time. In this case, it was silent,” he said.

Trump also attacked Harris, calling her “not a smart person” and claiming that “she doesn’t want to debate.”

Biden’s disastrous performance in the last debate and his decline in the polls spelled a death sentence for his campaign.

Harris, who is narrowly ahead of Trump in the polls, hopes to maintain her lead or even increase it.