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www.politico.com

With just 15 days left until the scheduled Sept. 10 presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, negotiations between their two campaigns have hit an impasse over whether the candidates’ microphones will be muted when it is not their turn to speak, according to four people familiar with the issue.

In June, President Joe Biden’s campaign came to an agreement with Trump’s: There would be two debates — CNN’s on June 27 and ABC’s on Sept. 10 — conducted by mutually negotiated rules. One of the Biden team’s demands — which the Trump team agreed to — was that microphones “will be muted throughout the debate except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak,” as CNN announced on June 15.

“We have told ABC and other networks seeking to host a possible October debate that we believe both candidates’ mics should be live throughout the full broadcast,” Brian Fallon, the Harris campaign’s senior adviser for communications, tells POLITICO. “Our understanding is that Trump’s handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don’t think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own. We suspect Trump’s team has not even told their boss about this dispute because it would be too embarrassing to admit they don’t think he can handle himself against Vice President Harris without the benefit of a mute button.”

  • Fester@lemm.eeEnglish
    76·
    4 months ago

    Compromise: The off-screen mic should be at half volume and use a high-pitched chipmunk voice changer effect.

  • sun_is_ra@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    45·
    4 months ago

    I am surprised its team Harris is the one who want unmuted microphones. The whole time I thought it woukd be Trump

      • lolcatnip@reddthat.comEnglish
        16·
        4 months ago

        Maybe they should mute the mics for the TV broadcast but also host a separate stream on the internet with full audio from both mics. That way Trump isn’t encouraged to interrupt, but we get to see him saying crazy shit if he tries.

      • barsquid@lemmy.world
        7·
        4 months ago

        If Donald drops a hard-R he will gain back some Repub voters who have been losing interest. Everyone else already knows he is racist.

    • Bgugi@lemmy.world
      181·
      4 months ago

      I could have sworn Ds wanted muted mics because trump was just talking over everyone and trampling the debate structure?

      • TheRealKuni@lemmy.worldEnglish
        92·
        4 months ago

        Yeah but now they want to make him look bad. His team don’t think he can control himself when he’s not supposed to be talking, so they want him muted.

        It’s ridiculous. Just stick with what was already agreed on.

        • HocEnimVeni@lemmy.world
          5·
          4 months ago

          It looks like they’re still doing the September debate with muted mics that was already agreed upon but they’re negotiating for a possible October debate without muted mics.

        • edric@lemm.eeEnglish
          4·
          4 months ago

          I saw that statement too, and I agree. Yes it’s embarrassing for Trump’s team to admit that they need to mute him, but you can never underestimate how the guy can derail any discussion if you just allow him to talk over you, no matter how good a debater the person on the other side is.

        • bcgm3@lemmy.world
          21·
          4 months ago

          Make him look bad? Everyone knows he’s bad, and and half the country loves that. I don’t see how this is going to help Kamala. Unless she can hold her own and push back when he talks over her (which will be incessant), this move seems largely in his favor. I do hope I’m proven wrong, though!

    • Yawweee877h444@lemmy.world
      12·
      4 months ago

      Definitely want to hear what he says under his breath, it will show everyone who he truly is (most of us already know though).

      Same for Kamala obviously. Doubt she would say anything terrible. Mainly because she’s, I don’t know, respectable, descent, or something.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
      10·
      4 months ago

      He’s looking for any reason to weasel out of this because he knows he has no chance against a former prosecutor with a sound mind.

    • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      4 months ago

      Look back to the first 2020 Biden Trump debate. Up until Biden 2024 performance, it was arguably one of the worst debate performances of all time.

      Harris wants to give him enough rope to hang himself.

  • crusa187@lemmy.ml
    24·
    4 months ago

    Perhaps someone with so little self control of their utterances should not in fact get to be elected to the highest office in the land. Just a thought.

    • girlfreddy@lemmy.caOP
      5·
      4 months ago

      I’d argue that should go for any gov’t office … which is why I’d never run in any election. :p

  • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
    19·
    4 months ago

    That went in the opposite direction from what I expected. I figured it’d be team orange that wanted the orange man to be able to interrupt, not that they’d fear him doing so. I’m on the side for hot mics as of now.

    • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
      15·
      4 months ago

      I guess Kamala wins either way now. Either they get hot mics and she has the strength to use his bluster and rudeness against him, or they don’t, and she can calmly set out her points in complete sentences, with facts, without being interrupted. They’ve pre-cast his bullying interruptions as “lack of self-control” rather than “assertion of power.”

  • yesman@lemmy.world
    91·
    4 months ago

    When Biden dropped out, I pointed out that Harris should insist on hot mics and people game me a lot of grief. I don’t wanna hear Trump either, but I want voters to hear him.

  • Eggyhead@fedia.io
    2·
    4 months ago

    Sometimes the questions take more time than the candidates are actually given. I can’t blame them for trying to talk over each other every god damned minute.

    • troglodytis@lemmy.world
      2·
      4 months ago

      That’s part of the debate skill set, answering questions in limited time. There is almost always more to say about a subject, especially when you’re a politician

      • laranis
        1·
        4 months ago

        I would argue at that level going over time is a part of the skill set. People watching these debates care less about what you say and more about how you say it. Dominating the conversation is better than superior policy and they know it.

        Or, they should.