Is Trump trying to withdraw from the debate with Harris?

Just a few weeks ago, Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris seemed to be doing the impossible: coming to an agreement. Their teams officially agreed to a presidential debate on September 10, a forum hosted by ABC News that President Joe Biden had already agreed to in May. But now the Trump and Harris campaigns are reportedly at odds over the terms of the debate, particularly the possible use of a mute button by moderators.

The first hint of trouble came from Trump, who raised the possibility of skipping the ABC News debate on Truth Social altogether. In a post on Sunday, Trump condemned a morning interview on the network with Senator Tom Cotton as “a so-called panel of Trump haters” and wrote, “I ask why would I air the debate against Kamala Harris on this network?”

On Monday, Politico reported that the two campaign teams had reached a standoff over whether the candidates’ microphones could be muted. By the time Trump and Biden agreed to that confrontation and the ill-fated debate in June, their camps had agreed that moderators would be allowed to turn off their microphones when they weren’t answering to prevent loud talk-through. Harris, however, who wasn’t involved in those negotiations at the time, is in favor of keeping the microphones on. The vice president is likely hoping to capitalize on Trump’s tendency to go off script, especially as he continues to adjust to the last-minute switch in candidates from Biden to Harris.

“We have told ABC and other networks planning to host a potential debate in October that we believe both candidates’ microphones should be on throughout the broadcast. It is our understanding that Trump’s advisers prefer the silent microphone because they do not believe their candidate can act as president for 90 minutes alone,” Harris campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement to the news agency.

But the Trump campaign team sees this as a change to the already established debate parameters. In a statement, campaign spokesman Jason Miller wrote that they said “no changes to the agreed rules” after the two camps agreed on the debate on September 10. “My guess is that they are looking for a way to get out of any debate with President Trump,” he said.

Trump spoke about this issue on Monday during a campaign rally in Virginia. The New York Just Trump reportedly said he and his team were still considering whether he should participate in the ABC debate. As for the microphones, he seemed open to broadcasting it live. “We agreed on the same rules. I don’t know, I don’t care. I probably would have preferred to have it on,” Trump said. “But the agreement was that it would be the same as last time.”

After Trump’s comments, Fallon responded to X, saying the September meeting should still take place. “Trump said unmuting the mics ‘doesn’t matter to me.’ I always suspected it was something his staff wanted, not him personally. With that cleared up, everything is now set for September 10,” he wrote.

There are also lingering questions about a second possible meeting between the candidates. Earlier this month, Trump urged Harris on social media to agree to a Fox News debate in September with a “FULL ARENA AUDIENCE.” That would be a departure from the June debate against Biden, which took place without a live audience – terms both campaigns had agreed to.