Why Harris wants to unmute Trump

CNN
—

“Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking.”

Kamala Harris’s sharpest line in an otherwise unmemorable debate with then-Vice President Mike Pence in 2020 perfectly explains the latest twist in her confrontation with Donald Trump.

Most Democrats have heard more than enough from the Republican candidate, but Harris wants to give him the opportunity to say exactly what he wants, when he wants, in the planned debate on ABC News on September 10.

The vice president’s camp is seeking to reverse a rule enforced by President Joe Biden’s team for the fateful debate with Trump in June that ensured a candidate’s microphones were muted when it was not his turn to speak. The restriction was seen as an attempt to prevent a repeat of Trump’s constant interruptions in their 2020 debates, which once prompted Biden to warn: “Are you finally going to shut up, man?”

It is obvious that the Harris team is hoping to give Trump a chance to sabotage himself through offensive interruptions or his overbearing personality.

Trump’s camp is resisting, even as the former president undermined his own team’s position on Monday by saying he would be willing to forgo the mute button.

The dispute underscores how enormously important this confrontation could be for the further development of the election campaign after Biden was knocked out of the race in late June during the most consequential presidential debate of all time – which was broadcast on CNN.

The meeting is especially important for Trump, who has struggled to adjust to his new opponent since Biden’s withdrawal – which Republicans still considered a victory in November – and may be his best chance to slow Harris’ momentum after her convention in Chicago, especially since he and his campaign team believe she is not ready for the pressure of answering policy questions and follow-up from an opponent as fierce as Trump.

“Trump has to debate. Harris has to debate,” said Republican CNN political analyst Scott Jennings. “They both have something to prove.”

Monday’s acrimonious exchanges between the campaign teams were another sign of how Harris has transformed the campaign. Her team has increasingly enjoyed trolling Trump – the ultimate political troll. For example, it released a web video with footage of the former president and the sound of a clucking chicken to suggest he might drop out of the debate. And Harris’ aides said Trump’s “handles” were afraid to raise the microphone issue with their boss.

An open mic would test the Republican candidate’s self-discipline in a debate with Harris – at a time when Republican Party strategists are imploring him to stay true to his policies and stop his grandstanding for the good of his campaign.

Images of Trump interrupting and openly disrespecting the woman who has a chance to become the first black president would speak for themselves. Harris would also have a chance to show strength by standing up to Trump, repeating her famous retort in the Pence debate. Theatrics from Trump that seem sexist or have racist undertones could alienate female voters, minorities and suburban voters who could be decisive in swing states in November.

Images of a distasteful Trump would play into the core idea of ​​Harris’ campaign, which she hammered home during the Democratic National Convention last week: that Americans have a “fleeting opportunity to move beyond the bitterness, cynicism and divisive struggles of the past.”

“The vice president wants the American people to see an unfettered Donald Trump, because that’s exactly what we’re going to get if he becomes president again,” Harris campaign spokesman Ian Sams told CNN’s Alex Marquardt. “I think it’s important that the American people see the choice between the two candidates on the stage in this election and at this moment.”

Challenging Trump to interrupt in front of an open microphone would be dangerous for the vice president. In 2016, the former president repeatedly interrupted Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and disrupted her flow of speech. Although this seemed unflattering to the Republican candidate at the time, he still won the election.

Maria Cardona, a political commentator at CNN, offered another reason why Harris might want an open mic. “By having the microphones unmuted, she has the ability to both control what she says … and to immediately verify his statements,” said Cardona, a Democrat.

In her debate with Pence – which took place behind screens during the Covid-19 pandemic – Harris thwarted an attempt to interrupt her during an exchange about the pandemic by raising her hand and saying, “Mr. Vice President, I am speaking. … I am speaking.”

The comment, which seemed like a prepared moment that candidates practice in mock debates, left the impression that Pence was mansplaining to Harris. The back-and-forth took on additional resonance because of the rivals’ races and genders. The then-Senator from California liked the line so much that she repeated it later in the debate before saying to Pence, “If you don’t mind letting me finish, we can talk then.”

At the time, Harris’ catchphrase spread like wildfire, giving rise to memes and memorabilia on social media, including mugs, T-shirts and sweatshirts that helped build the vice president’s persona.

The disagreements over the terms of the September 10 debate reveal familiar fault lines within the Trump campaign.

According to a source familiar with the matter, the candidate’s staff would prefer that the microphones be muted during the debate. Trump’s senior adviser Jason Miller said in a statement that the ex-president accepted the ABC debate under the same conditions as the CNN debate with Biden. And he suggested that Harris’ change of course suggested her debate preparation was in trouble. “Even her own campaign spokesman said the debate over the debates is over. Obviously they are seeing something they don’t like,” Miller said.

But as he often does, the former president appeared to undermine his own team’s stance. “I don’t care, I probably would have preferred to have it on, but the agreement was that everything would stay the same as last time,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Virginia. “In this case, it was silent. I didn’t like it last time, but it worked out well.”

He added a caveat: “We agreed on the same rules. The same rules, the same guidelines. And I think that’s probably how it should be.”

Harris’ team hit back, and Sam told CNN that the former president had resolved the issue by asking for open mics.

“We experienced it first hand,” he said.